Interlopers and Usurpers
by Theralion
Summary: Oarai has won the tournament, but while the school remains open, its future is uncertain. With the champion defeated by an underdog, some males see it as their chance to get involved in tankery. But what are their intentions? How could they possibly hope to succeed? And do they intend to share tankery with the girls? An alternate look at the inclusion of males in tankery.
1. New Arrivals

**Interlopers and Usurpers**

**Chapter 1: New Arrivals**

At the meeting of the Salvation of Tankery Union, an exclusively male organization concerned with a sport for females, the seven men on the Council that led the organization were excitedly discussing the latest news from high school tankery. They had long sought to enact the changes they desired in tankery, but it had failed, in large part because of conservative factions like the Nishizumi school, and in part because of the inertia that hinders any attempt at change in absence of a belief that the status quo was unsustainable. The fact that they hoped to see the changes take place immediately did not help matters, and had doomed all their efforts to failure- until now, when an opportunity arose, one most would, with good reason, dismiss as impossible or too good to be true, and they were brought together.

The men sat around a rectangular table emblazoned with the logo of the STU, a blue male symbol superimposed over a pink female symbol, both of which were below the letters STU. Theirs was an alliance of convenience, forged by a promise of power that could only be obtained through their combined efforts. And so each of the seven Council members had a share of the power in the STU, and, they hoped, over the administration, schools and teams of tankery in the future.

"This is quite an interesting development," one of the Council members, the Centurion, said. He, like the rest, was only known to the others by his title. "A school, returning to tankery for the first time in 20 years, defeats the until-recently undefeated champion Black Forest, and the heiress of the arrogant and domineering Nishizumi school."

"To think Oarai was, at the time, in what was thought to be its final year," another, known as the Progenitor, said. "But keeping a school running is a more difficult- and expensive- process that can't just be solved by winning a tournament."

"It seems the student council planned for that, to an extent," yet another, called the Subjugator said. "But they will need help, and I don't think they'll care where it comes from. They'll be willing to take on boys- to those in charge, staying in operation as a coed school is better than shutting down."

"Indeed," the head of the council, known as the Patriarch, said. He was not present in the room, but represented by a video camera and microphone on the center of the table. "Just as Oarai has been granted a chance to, against all odds, save their school, we have been granted an opportunity to change tankery forever. It will begin with the integration of males with the sport. It will end with us taking control of tankery itself."

* * *

As Nishizumi Miho woke up and put on her school uniform, she realized that she had never been so happy to go through this mundane routine; on this day, she was now a third-year at Oarai. Thanks to her victory in the last tournament, she had saved the school from closure, granting it a new lease on life.

But even with this proverbial new lease, the school was no different from a person renting an apartment with a lease, in that nothing came freely. The school had to secure funding to stay in operation, and while several sources of funding came forward in the wake of the victory, causing the officials who had considered closing the school to allow Oarai to stay open, there were more that were needed.

Miho walked to school, noticing many new faces in the crowd of students, among them, a large number of almost identical black-clad boys walking in the same direction she was.

"Excuse me, Nishizumi Miho-san?" a male voice came from behind Miho, causing her to turn around and see a dark-haired boy with glasses in a black gyakuran. "I'm Suou Garai, a new student and a third-year. I noticed that I'm going to be in your class this year, and I'd like to introduce myself."

"It's nice to meet you, Suou-kun," Miho said, and they exchanged bows. "But how did you know my name?"

"I memorized the class roster, in the hopes of getting to know everyone," Garai said.

Miho was reminded of the time when she first came to Oarai alone. Having left her sister and friends at Black Forest behind, she hoped to make new ones there, and despite her efforts, felt lonely in her first days at Oarai until Takebe Saori and Isuzu Hana came into her life. Since then, she had befriended them, as well as Saori's long-time friend Reizei Mako and Akiyama Yukari the fan of tanks. Miho was at least on good terms with everyone else in the tankery team. Having formed a friends group, she, partly due to a lack of time and partly due to a lack of need, had not put any time into memorizing the names of the new arrivals, both the first-year girls and the transferring boys from all ages.

But she realized that this year, there were many others like her for whom this was a new beginning, and decided to make the effort to remember his face and name, for the sake of welcoming a new arrival to Oarai Academy.

"I'll see you in class, Suou-kun," Miho said. After they exchanged their goodbyes, she walked into the building and down the halls, seeing several boys, both walking alone and with their friends.

"Oh, hi, Miporin!" Saori, said, as Miho approached her in the process of watching the boys in the class.

"Hello, Saori-san," Miho said. "Where's Hana-san?"

"They shuffled the classes around," Saori said. "Yukarin and Hana are in class 3-A."

"What about Mako-san?" Miho said.

"Here," Mako said, coming in behind Miho and Saori.

"Just in time, Mako," Saori said. Mako, as a result of participating in early tankery practice and matches, and her blood pressure getting better from driving a tank, had started to get up earlier, even if she did not enjoy doing so.

"Morning, Saori, Miho; I suppose the two of you have noticed the new arrivals, right?" Mako said, looking around the room. Where there were once rows of girls clad in identical white sailor fukus, now the rows were dotted by black-clad boys, almost as if it were a zebra.

Miho and Saori nodded. They had succeeded in saving Oarai from closure, and even if their classes had changed, they would still be in the same school as their friends. But the school as they knew it had changed substantially, possibly even permanently.

* * *

A few weeks after the last tournament and the celebration of their victory, the student council had called the tank crews together for an announcement regarding the status of the school.

"Everyone, once again, I'd like to congratulate you on your victory," the student council president, Kadotani Anzu said, but her face then turned grim. "But the news I have regarding our school's future is less than celebratory. The good news is that we will be able to continue running for at least another year. The bad news is that to go beyond that, we need more funding."

Murmurs of discontent arose from the assembled students. Some of them wondered whether there was more that the student council had kept from them. If the student council believed that, if nothing else, the chance to compete for the school's survival gave them hope, might they have settled for false hope?

"We offer our deepest and most sincere apologies," vice president Koyama Yuzu said. "It pains us to leave with so much left in the air; we wish we could do more to ensure the school's long-term stability after this year."

"But we knew from the beginning that ensuring Oarai's survival was no simple matter, nor would it permanently be resolved with just winning the tournament," public relations representative Kawashima Momo said. "And yet, with so little time to plan or do something to stave off our closure, this was all we could do; we couldn't necessarily plan for five years down the line when we didn't know whether we'll be open at the end of this one. I'm honestly surprised the officials agreed to this condition, given that the President thought of it on the spur of the moment."

"Kawashima pretty much hit the mark," Anzu said, an amused grin returning to her face for a moment as she uttered a phrase she never thought she'd say. "We do, however, have a promising possibility; significant support if we take part in a government program to mainstream boys into our school. In the consolidation program for school ships that we told you about earlier that would have led to our closure, there were some school ships for boys that were in our position, but weren't so lucky as we were. Some of those boys will be coming over here, and we will be receiving support that should help us keep going if we take them in."

"Before, there simply weren't enough available students for making this school coed to have enough effect to keep us afloat- figuratively and to an extent, literally- nor enough time to implement it, considering that they saw us as a relatively strong candidate for the chopping block until we won the tournament," Momo said. "There was also the question of what uniforms we would provide to them, but for this year, they will be using the same ones that were used in the now defunct Higashizawa Boys' Academy, where the lion's share of our transfers came from or had planned to enroll, and which closed down at the end of last year, as a lower-performing school with little to its name."

A heated discussion erupted among the assembled students. Some students welcomed the arrival of boys. Others believed that Oarai worked better with only girls in it, and that the boys who were coming might also be happier at their boys-only schools. Yamagou Ayumi's parents believed girls did better studying without the presence of boys in the class, and she barely convinced them to let her stay by pointing out how happy she was with her friends from Rabbit Team and how good the school was for her. Momo made a motion to request quiet, silencing the crowd. After the commotion died down, Sodoko raised her hand.

"Go ahead, Sodoko," Anzu said.

"President, have the school authorities written up new rules regarding the presence of those of the opposite gender at this high school? I'm asking particularly, but not only about, those against student relationships?"

"Yeah, we're working on those rules," Anzu said. Some of the other issues were still being worked out. The school was in the process of getting uniforms for the boys. While there were men's bathrooms for male employees, other bathrooms were being designated as boys' restrooms, and a pilot program for a unisex bathroom was considered. The school was writing up new language for their anti-bullying rules to include sexual discrimination. "But we can say that yes, there is a rule against students going out."

Some of the students groaned. Saori was looking forward to the chance to possibly meet a boyfriend, especially now that she was a crew member of the best-performing tank in a championship-winning tank team. While Rabbit Team's Utsugi Yuuki's long-distance relationship with Shirakawa Kenji, her boyfriend from their coed middle school, had ended due to her participation in tankery, she was hoping to try again. But now the new rules would likely turn off any potential boyfriends who did not wish to risk getting in trouble, and the incoming male students were tantalizing to her her.

"Look, we're bound by the rules as much as you are," Sodoko said. "And it's ultimately up to us on the disciplinary committee to enforce them. I don't enjoy being thought of as the 'bad guy', but I honestly think these rules are beneficial to our school community. Everyone following them makes my job and your lives easier."

"But please understand, Sono-san," Yuzu said. "Enforcement is not always an easy thing, especially when you have to balance upholding the rules with keeping Oarai a place that students can enjoy attending, in addition to learning well. And this process of integrating male students is nothing if not a large adjustment for _everyone_- for the new students, for the returning female students, and for the faculty and staff."

Sodoko simply nodded to concede Yuzu's point. She was not well liked for her uncompromising attitude on the rule, although few people hated her, merely thinking of her as a nuisance they could safely ignore. But how would she deal with boys as a student, and not just as a disciplinary committee member? She would not get to find out for herself.

"Besides, why do you care, Sodoko?" Mako said. "You'll be gone at the end of the year."

"The others still have a job to do, and I'm asking on their behalf," Sodoko said; Gomoyo would be taking over as head of the disciplinary committee for the next year. "And besides, if the student council didn't care where the school was going after this year, they wouldn't have planned anything like reviving tankery just to try to win the tournament, all so we could stay open."

Neither Mako nor anyone else chose to contest the point. The student council had, like the best of its predecessors, worked to ensure that they left the school a better place than when they arrived. While a significant portion of the school community and the Oarai public criticized their decision to keep the impending closure secret, most recognized that they had acted in what they believed to be the school's best interests, even if they believed that decision was not the best one. And while there would be a great deal of work and little that was certain in the future, the student council had done what they could to ensure the school's survival.

* * *

As the next academic year began, the new student settled into their office. For a moment, they found it difficult to adjust that they were on a different side of the desk.

"I still find it hard to believe we'd ever wind up in this position," Hakamichi Yukino, a bespectacled girl with shoulder-length brown hair who was the new president of the student council, said to her fellow council members, who had been her friends for years.

Anzu, facing a lack of volunteers for running for student council, had approached Yukino and her friends, having heard that they were representatives for their classes, and had been on the student council in their middle school. Although Yukino described being on the student council as "not a job anyone can do well simply by wanting it badly enough," Yuzu reassured her that such an attitude regarding power and the responsibility it entailed made her well-suited to the position.

"Still, Yu- President, you have to wonder how Kadotani and the rest of the administration got elected for three years on the student council," Takei Haruka, the new vice president, who had short, light brown hair, said. "Even considering people didn't know that Kadotani's last year at Oarai might have been the last year for _all of us_ if not for them re-establishing tankery, as well as Nishizumi and the others leading us to victory."

The fact that Oarai had been on the brink of shutting down could no longer remain a secret after the match with Pravda. With almost two dozen students now aware of this, the student council chose to make an announcement to the school, and that was the point at which Yukino and her friends, then second-years, learned about the possibility of their spending their third year in a different school, possibly even from each other. While some criticized the student council for their secrecy, others were more understanding. Some clubs, including the former volleyball team, now understood why their funding had been cut while tankery was established as a new elective, and so put forth their money and efforts to help the tankery crew out, partly out of a pragmatic realization that their survival depended on the tankery crew's success, and partly out of love of their school.

Yukino and her friends had hesitated back then, unsure of whether they could do anything meaningful for the school with their skill sets. But after seeing the rest of the students succeed on the field of tankery, they realized that whatever their reasons, they had done nothing while the school needed help. And so, when Anzu came with her offer, they, after much discussion, decided to put for their names for the student council, and also decided to volunteer for the tankery crew should the school require more victories on the field of tankery to prove itself worthy of continuing to operate. They wanted to prove that their championship victory was not merely a fluke, and that Oarai could be considered a force to be reckoned with in tankery.

They had expected that they might be the only ones to try to run for student council. But little did they suspect that they would comprise three out of eight of the new recruits for tankery, exactly enough to fill the shoes of the graduating third-years.

"Well, shall we get going, then?" Kanzaki Shizune, the new public relations representative, and a girl with long dark hair, said. "We don't want to keep Nishizumi-san waiting." Shizune was not very talkative compared to Yukino and Haruka and was relatively shy, but her good manners made it easy for her to get along with others, making her well-suited for her position.

The three made their way to the tankery hangar, where Miho sat at a table, waiting to greet the new members, process their registrations, and assign them to tanks. She was speaking to the three new first-year members of the automobile club- Ichiko, Fuyumi, and Miyuki.

"The three of you can go into Leopon Team's Porsche Tiger; Tsuchiya-san, whom I'm sure you met when you joined the automobile club, will be your commander," Miho said before sending them on their way. "Next, please."

The student council then stepped forward as their turn came.

"We will be in your care from now on, Nishizumi-san, or rather, Commander Nishizumi," Yukino said.

"The new student council?" Miho said.

"It would be all too easy for us to no longer care what happens once the year ends and we graduate, but I don't think we would have ever volunteered for the student council if we had that mindset." Haruka said.

"We have no prior experience in tankery," Shizune said. "But we want to do what we can to help, and will step aside if you find a better crew."

Miho could not help but let off a nervous chuckle at Shizune's offer. Oarai's tankery team had always been shorthanded, and this year was no exception.

"The three of you can crew the Hetzer," Miho said. "I'll leave it up to you as to who takes what position, although I recommend finding a role that suits you and sticking with it, practicing as much as you can to get better at it."

"Please leave it to us," Yukino said, and the three walked over to the tank. "So, the three of us have to cover five positions. It's hard to believe Kadotani-senpai was both commander and gunner toward the end."

"Why don't you do it, President?" Haruka said.

"We're not on student council duty, Haruka," Yukino said. "And even if I become commander of this tank, we're all on the same footing, so just call me what you usually do."

"Ok, Yukino," Haruka said, slipping back into informal speech. Manners did not come naturally to her, and while she was able to avoid saying anything too offensive, she had to make a conscious effort to avoid that, and found herself not using honorifics on people when they weren't in earshot. "Loading looks like a demanding yet simple job, so I'll take it."

"Then that leaves me as the driver," Shizune said. The three climbed onto the tank, then after opening the hatch and checking the interior, got into their positions. Shizune looked at the controls. "These controls… I wonder if Koyama-senpai got stuck with this job because it's the most difficult."

"The gunner role also seems more complex than I had initially thought," Yukino said, looking at the controls to aim and fire. "To think Kadotani-senpai and the others just dove into this…"

"Times were different back then," Haruka said. "And Kadotani faced different challenges than we do now, in having to ensure that the school remained around for next year, rather than ensuring that it lasted the test of time. It didn't matter whether she laid the foundation for plans that would come to fruition over the next decade if it closed down at the end of the year."

"It doesn't help that we're the only girls in it," Shizune said. "Say, wasn't there a boy who signed up? And doesn't the rules say something about it?"

"There's nothing in the rules that says boys can't do tankery, at least as far as non-official matches go," Yukino said. "And if Nishizumi-san can't find someone else to fill Sono-senpai's position, she may very well have to take him, or risk having an empty seat in Mallard Team's tank."

* * *

Miho, seated at the table, looked at the thin stack of registration papers. After filling in the parts only for the commander- whether the applicants were accepted, and which tanks and roles they would be in- she filed them away and noticed only a handful of other papers on the table. Three new first-year girls had joined the automobile club, and in the "Special Comments" section of their application, mentioned that they could not only operate the tanks, but also fix them, having come from a middle school with a good tankery program. There was also a girl known as Iruka, an online friend of Momogawa, a second-year who transferred from Saunders to Oarai , who replaced Piyotan as loader and gunner on the Chi-Nu. Unlike most of the others, she had some practice with the tank, but had never seen an actual competition.

"Only two other people besides the student council and automobile club's first years signed up..." she said, disappointed. After the new members of Leopon, and the new Turtle team, there was only Iruka's application and one other.

"Many people may watch tankery, but not everyone wants to participate," Yukari said. "When I was younger, it was difficult for me to make friends because of how few people were interested in it."

"I completely understand what you're saying, Yukari-san," Miho said, then paused a moment. "But, on second thought… in some regards, it might be better this way. A lot of teams, like Black Forest, have a fairly sizable bench, meaning that people don't necessarily always get to go out and fight in a tank. Perhaps that prepares us for contingencies and helps us cherry pick the best, but it also results in people getting left out. If they don't have any hope of getting in, there's little incentive for them to improve, and they may end up getting demoralized. But since we didn't get any more tanks, this should be enough to crew the ones we have."

The new student council had, in an budget meeting before the academic year began, called Miho in to tell her that for the foreseeable future, Oarai would not be able to buy any more tanks. Finances were tight, and tankery, while now the pride of the school, was no longer vitally necessary for it to remain in operation. The other clubs had done what they could to help the school get through the finals, but they now had to see to their own needs. Haruka had pointed out that it had relatively high operating costs for a school club, with expenses such as fuel, ammunition and repairs, without adding new tanks that would cost money to purchase and maintain. The fact that other clubs had their funding reduced, if they were not eliminated entirely, in this academic year, meant that the tankery club was in even less of a position to ask for more money.

Miho, understanding the reasons why Oarai had entered the tournament, took the news relatively well, and noted that another relevant problem was finding people to crew the tanks. While Miho knew that some of the tanks could be replaced with superior models, she did not wish to take away from money that could go to the school, nor did she wish to cause the team to become complacent- she believed that the team's success was in part because they had to struggle to make the most of the tanks they had. Tactical efficiency would not have been as much of a concern if the enemy did not severely outnumber them. And if Oarai had the same powerful tanks that schools like Black Forest did, they would not have had to think as hard about how to use each to its fullest potential.

"Speaking of Black Forest," Hana said, "Would it be possible that many people who wanted a school with tankery already signed up to go to Black Forest, Saunders, or the other well-known tankery schools? Their registration forms were most likely already submitted at or around the time we won the tournament."

"Yeah, that's true," Saori said. "But the boys sent here were largely assigned to new schools. Surely some of them are tankery fans?"

"Hmm…" Miho said, turning back to the sheet. "Our last applicant…I think I heard his name before somewhere…" Saori's ears pricked up at hearing "his", while Miho turned to see a male student approach the table.

"Excuse me… am I in the right place?" Garai said as he came up to Miho and Yukari.

"Ah, you're the boy from this morning," Miho said. "What was your name…" After a moment, Miho remembered. "Ah, Suou Garai-kun, right?"

"That is correct, I signed up for tankery ." Garai said. "Do you have any positions open?"

"Let me see…" Miho said, and paused as an idea came to her. "Yes, I believe I do. Yukari-san, I've come to a decision. I'd like you to command the Char 1 B1Bis again. In addition, I'd like you to teach Suou-kun how to load the Panzer IV; he will be the loader for Team Anglerfish. I will be over helping out the new Turtle Team."

"Leave it to me, Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said enthusiastically, while saluting. "I'm Akiyama Yukari," she said to Garai. "It's nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you, too, Akiyama-san," Garai said. The two exchanged bows and then proceeded to the Panzer IV.

"Have you ever operated a tank before, Suou-dono?" Yukari said.

"Not yet, although I have read a little about them," Garai said.

"So why don't you give loading a shot?" Yukari said as Garai began to load a practice shell into the tank. Garai clumsily tried to fit in the shell for about a minute, while Yukari watched his efforts. Finally, he slowly set the down and let off a long sigh of frustration.

"As I thought… Nishizumi-dono said there would be a breaking in period for the new recruits," Yukari said. "Let me show you how it's done." Yukari then walked him through the process, smoothly loading the shell into the tank. "There you go. You probably can't do it this smoothly when your tank's under fire, but that's the idea." Yukari then unloaded the shell. "Why don't you try it again?"

Garai picked up a shell, then, replicating Yukari's movements almost perfectly, manage to put the shell in, in a fraction of the time he had originally taken. Yukari noticed that there was something less graceful about how he did it, but wondered if it was simply because he wasn't as used to doing it.

"That's the way!" she said. "You're getting the hang of this quite quickly! Keep practicing so you can do it quickly and reliably in actual combat."

"You seem to like being a loader, Akiyama-san," Garai said, as he continued to practice loading the shells.

"I like **everything** about tanks!" Yukari said giddily. "Being a loader happened to appeal to me, since the importance of loading a shell is something only a true fan of tankery could fully appreciate- some think the shells are loaded by the tank itself. But most true tankery fans know otherwise, and that may be one reason why Nishizumi-dono initially wanted to be a loader."

"One reason?" Garai said, deducing from Yukari's choice of words that there were others.

"When the four of us started out- it was four before Reizei-dono joined- we pretty much chose whichever roles came naturally to us," Yukari said. "Nishizumi-dono didn't want to be commander at first, but she was better for that role than Takebe-dono, who later became our radio operator because of her skill at talking with others. After I became loader, Isuzu-dono became the gunner because she enjoyed firing the cannon, and Reizei-dono, who had briefly substituted for Isuzu-dono as driver, became our permanent driver. Everyone found their niche, and together, we became quite a team."

Garai smiled, touched by the description of the team. It seemed clear to him what he needed to do in order to be an asset to Anglerfish Team, and with it, Oarai Academy's tankery team as a whole.

Miho walked over shortly afterward, having finished helping the Student Council and the rest of the new teams.

"Yukari-san, could you please go over to Mallard Team?" Miho said, "We're going to be doing some exercises in our tanks."

"Certainly, Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said eagerly. Before she left, she turned around and faced her again. "But how's the student council doing?"

"It's taking them a little while to get used to it," Miho said. "The same goes with the other new team members, but the returning members from last year are helping out quite a bit."

"I see," Yukari said. "But we knew we would have some people with no prior experience in tanks. Even those who were fans of tanks might not understand how to use them, a bit like…" Yukari paused a moment, trying to think of an analogy that would make sense to someone unfamiliar to tankery, and turned to Garai. "It's a bit like how if you watch baseball on TV, you won't necessarily know how to throw, catch or hit a ball."

"Ah, I get it," Garai said.

"Still, if you love something, it's often the basis necessary for the determination to stick with it and get better at it," Yukari said. "And I think you'll be no exception."

As Yukari walked off to train with Mallard Team, Garai no longer felt out of place as a result of his inexperience or gender. All of the tankery team had once been beginners, but the fact that most of them were beginners in the relatively recent past made him realize that he was not alone. Perhaps if the team accepted former volleyball players, gaming nerds, the student government and disciplinary committee, auto mechanics, and history buffs, there was also a place in it for a boy.

* * *

"That's all for today," Miho said at the end of practice. "I hope to see you all tomorrow."

Miho and the rest of Team Anglerfish started getting ready to leave, when Miho walked over to Garai.

"Why don't you come with us, Yukari-san, Suou-kun?" Miho said. "We're having dinner at my place tonight."

"Certainly, Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said enthusiastically. While she was the commander of Mallard Team's tank now, she decided to let her crewmates, Gomoyo and Pazomi, socialize with each other, as well as the rest of their friends on the disciplinary committee, while she rejoined the first friends she made through tankery. The new members of Leopon team were breaking the ice, but they were quickly bonding over their common interest in automobile repairs. Anteater Team's new arrival, Iruka, was also comfortably integrating into the team, having known her teammates from before she came to the school. Naturally, the question remained of where Garai would go, and it seemed natural to Miho that she would bring him along with the others.

"Me? Really?" Garai said. "But we only just met."

"Back when I was new here, Saori-san and Hana-san made an effort to include me, in a time when I was searching for people with whom I could become friends. The least I could do is to extend the same kindness to someone else who's new at this school, especially a new teammate."

Garai still was unsure what to think of Miho's offer, as he was unused to such wholehearted and sincere offers of friendship, and wondered whether he could rightfully accept it so early in their relationship. But he reminded himself that regardless of circumstances on his end or any benefit that the team could reap from this, Miho's offer was made in kindness, and it was the first time someone had invited him purely for the purpose of including him, without any ulterior motives. The most polite and grateful thing he could do was to graciously accept this invitation.

"Thank you very much, Nishizumi-san!" Garai said. "I would very much like to have dinner with you!"

"Glad to hear Suou-kun is coming, Miporin!" Saori said, before turning to Garai. "Oh, and do you mind if I call you by your first name?

"You may," Garai said, going with the flow. Despite knowing that he was merely an acquaintance to them, he still felt a little out of place being on a last name basis with them when they, except for the unusually formal Yukari, were on a first name basis with each other.

"All right, let's go, Garai!" Saori said energetically.

* * *

At night, Garai wrote up his report regarding Oarai's academics, one that he and the other male students wrote in as part of their enrollment at Oarai, for the purposes of determining how male students were adjusting to their new school, and getting along with the girls. In it, he filled out everything he had seen and heard that day. The academic program was satisfactory, as was the tankery program. He was getting along well with the female students, who seemed to be welcoming of him. Miho in particular seemed to be a friendly individual, and an effective and well-organized tank crew commander.

Having written everything he was required to discuss, Garai reviewed the report document one last time, clicked "Send", and sat back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment as he pondered how his first day at Oarai went how he had expected, save for his developing friendship with Miho and the others. He had to wonder- just what would that mean for the future?

His participation in tankery seemed to be getting off to a promising start. And while he was uncertain of what tomorrow would bring, he could conclude that it had been a fairly good day.

* * *

**Omake**

Hello! I'm Ou Taiga, official reporter for Oarai, and today I'll be presenting my results on why relatively few people are taking tankery, even after Oarai's unprecedentedly defeating Black Forest and winning the tournament last year.

"Tanks are cool and all," one boy said while standing next to his friend. "But doing something with so many GIRLS around? No thanks, I don't want people to think I'm a ho-"

The other boy jabbed the first in the ribs with his elbow, saying something like, "Don't say that!" in a whisper that was too soft to be clearly audible to me, but which the first understood perfectly well.

"A hopeless romantic," the first corrected himself.

"And what about you?" I asked the second.

"Loud noises, cramped quarters… it's not for me," he said. "My great-grandfather fought in World War II, and he said he hated serving in a tank. All his stories, in particular how much he'd regretted what he'd done, turned me off, to say the least."

"Well, I am not saying that I am not interested or anything of the sort, but, well…" another boy stammered. He gave me the impression of seeming refined, a young gentleman in the making, so it was a bit off-putting to see him stumble over his words like that. "Can I start over, please?"

"Yes, go ahead," I said.

"My parents want me to take calligraphy, something they view as appropriately dignified and traditional, so that's what I am going to take." I could tell there was a note of hesitation and doubt in his voice, as if this was not necessarily what he wanted.

"Tankery was my second choice," a boy with glasses who seemed to be a bit of an otaku said, "But I went with ninjutsu first- it seems so much cooler."

"Meh, not interested," another boy said, as did most of the rest of the interviewees when they bothered to answer my questions.

I then decided to get to writing up my story.

"_In spite of last year's tournament and efforts by the current and former student council to drum up interest, only eight new students signed up for tankery this year."_

As for a quote, I decided to use one of the other ones from an apathetic female student.

"_Oarai's winning the tournament is an impressive accomplishment,"_ _second year Ikeda Kasumi-san said. "But if you have no interest in tankery, it means about as much to you as a delicious dish means to someone with no sense of taste."_

* * *

**Author's Notes**

This story is meant as an alternative take on the popular "Boys get involved in tankery" plot, looking at the sudden arrival of powerful and well established boys' teams in tankery from another perspective. Do the boys always view the girls as their equals? Would all of them accept gradually integrating males into tankery, or would some feel entitled and want to seize absolute control and dominance over tankery? What are their motivations for getting involved with Tankery (which are by no means uniform)? Can they necessarily replicate Oarai or the other schools' success by copying their methods and tank lineups? And what would it require for schools with partly or entirely male tankery teams to suddenly appear out of nowhere, without anyone knowing of their existence, and drastically change tankery overnight? A secondary goal in this fic is to show making Oarai and tankery coed as something more than a plot device to include boys and other OCs, but a part of the story in and of itself, albeit not the main plot, and explore some of the implications of doing so.

There will be a few themes running throughout this fic, including the nature of change- how long-standing habits and ideas by individuals and groups change, how change is implemented, and whether it is good or bad (for example, the STU might be pursuing their goal for the wrong reasons, but many believe that breaking Black Forest's winning streak and changing the Nishizumi school's ideology are good things)- as well as what matters most to some of the canon characters, and why Oarai as a team is strong.

It will also be similar to my Mai-Hime fic, Perfection is Overrated (in which the main characters fought against the SUEs, representative of Mary Sue archetypes), in a few ways, by looking at the impact people like the boys have on the world, and how they would compete with the main characters on a level playing field, especially how they would come across without the author giving them preferential treatment, as I've noticed that in some of these fics, the boys come off as similarly unbelievable at times, such as when they are exceptionally skilled, or come from an especially strong, well-regarded or well-equipped school that no one has heard of before.

My interpretation is that Oarai wouldn't necessarily be able to afford new tanks, even if the tank team saved the school from closure, since most of the money would be going toward keeping it open, as they achieved the short-term goal of averting closure and must now focus on ensuring its long-term survival. I also did some research on integrating boys into schools, and found that while there were several reasons, getting more enrollment and thus more tuition money, was not necessarily one of them, unless they wanted a better pool of student applicants by including male ones and taking the best of them while foregoing weaker female applicants. Thus, my reason for Oarai becoming coed was so that students from boys' schools that got shut down (I suspect Oarai was not the only school facing this) would have a place to go.

Interestingly enough, it's never established how much the tanks cost, although I suspect that it's an amount that would be an issue for a school like Oarai or Anzio (the latter of which deploys some tankettes against Oarai- while they act as bait, I suspect they would have deployed actual tanks if they could afford them), but not for Saunders, Black Forest, or other well-funded schools. It's also likely that maintenance costs exist for tanks, as Katyusha remarks that Pravda didn't practice so as not to waste fuel- it may be proof of Katyusha's overconfidence, but it also speaks to one of several operating expenses that might be a problem for a school like Oarai.

It may seem improbable to have only eight people join tankery, but keep in mind that in the first year, even with all the hype the Student Council gave to it and the rewards they offered, only 18 people initially signed up to crew tanks, plus the Automobile club's support. There are also likely factors that indicate a good number of people don't like tankery, in universe, for reasons such as:

-A belief that it's only a sport for females, which I suspect would be cultivated after having women do it for so long.  
-Laziness like Mako, initially.

-Lack of interest, like some of Miho's elementary school classmates in Little Army, Aya's male friends or Yuuki's boyfriend. Saori indicates that relatively few are interested in tankery these days.

-Disapproval of tankery, with said disapproval either influencing people to think the same or not take it, such as Hana's mother. Some may see it as barbaric, while others may see it as trivializing war, or no substitute for the real thing.

Some of the STU members will display special abilities; for the most part, subtle enough so that only those in-universe who know in advance or are watching very closely can even suspect that something's unusual (a bit like some of the players' special skills in Saki). This is intended to be the opposite of stories in which a seemingly impossible and magical feat is done by several layers of deception, illusions and trickery. In this story, they practice special abilities to show that there is no natural explanation for what characters like the ones that inspired them can do, as well as that the higher-ranking STU members(not necessarily the lower-ranking ones) have essentially gotten this far by cheating and plan to change tankery unnaturally quickly. They will also display carelessness at times that will often come into play at crucial moments- this is also to reflect the carelessness that characters like them display due to the authors not being able to write them well, and that is enabled by their inspirations' superiority over others.

Regarding Tsuchiya's name, in spite of the sudden name change, I will assume that she, the fair-skinned second-year from the auto club with moderately short light-brown hair (as opposed to the tanned third-year with dark brown and very short hair), is called Tsuchiya.

Some omakes will provide flashbacks, various insight on characters or parts of the story, or various interludes.

And on a minor note, there will be a recurring feature imagining which team would be in the ending credits if this fic used the Girls Und Panzer ending.

**Ending Theme Team**: New Anglerfish Team


	2. Making New Memories

**Chapter 2: Making New Memories**

"Things are progressing fairly well," the Patriarch said to the rest of the STU council. "Only one boy signed up for tankery this year at Oarai, but it was to the one spot that could accommodate him."

"Only one?" the Subjugator said. Not all of the STU Council was opposed to female participation in tankery, but the Subjugator was fairly vocal in his belief that females not only should not be dominant in tankery, but there should be no place for them in it at all. But while few in the STU shared his beliefs to the extent that he did, even fewer females involved with tankery viewed the STU's mission with anything more positive than indifference, so excluding them was not seen as impractical.

"The inclusion of boys is only the first and most fundamental change we want to see happen to tankery," the Progenitor said. "While it is happening more slowly than we would like, the situation is satisfactory for the moment, even though much work remains to be done until we achieve our goals."

"Yes, what matters most is how our people perform on the field of tank combat," the Patriarch said. "Centurion, will you be ready for the next phase?"

"Yes, Patriarch-sama," the Centurion said. "My people have made their preparations. We only have yet to hear back from the relevant party"

"Very good," the Patriarch said. "Should they succeed, the it will set in motion the events necessary for our rise to power. The Nishizumi school's reign as the foremost authorities on tankery will end and ours will begin."

* * *

As class ended and lunch began, Garai began packing his supplies into his bag. As he was doing so, two of his male classmates approached him. Garai sometimes wondered why he did not speak with many of the students outside the tankery crew more often, and the unpleasant feeling in his gut told him that he was about to be reminded why.

"So, Suou, hanging out with the girls again?" one of the boys said, expressing a similar opinion to what he had once said to Ou Taiga while being interviewed.

"Well, yes, I'm on the tankery team," Garai said. "I figure it's good to get to know the people I'm going to be fighting alongside."

The boy sniggered derisively.

"That's a real good one," the boy said, barely holding himself back from breaking out into contemptuous laughter. "Do they make you wear a skirt like everyone else?"

"No, I just wear my uniform trousers and dress shirt with the tankery jacket," Garai said, unused to dealing with sarcastic and snarky banter.

"With that girly little anglerfish on the back?" The first boy laughed out loud, apparently finding his own comment very amusing. "Whatever you say."

"Um, we should get going," the second boy in the group said.

"Right, right," the first boy said. "Hey, Suou, remember this," he continued, turning back to Garai. "Little girls play around in tanks, but real MEN join the military and fight in them!" He saw the second boy cringe in disgust.

As the boy and his walked away, toward the cafeteria, Garai noticed that the second boy, who had not approved of what his friend had said, was not following him. He stopped, let off a sigh, and turned to address Garai, speaking quietly enough so that only Garai could hear him.

"Sorry about Aizawa, Suou-kun," the boy who stayed behind said. "His dad has some pretty controversial political views, such as his belief that Japan should rearm and doesn't need to apologize for what it did in the past, and he's picked up on a lot of them."

"Is he a friend of yours?" Garai said.

"He is," the boy said. "He and I don't always agree, and he's not always tactful in expressing his opinions, but he's a nice guy to his friends, and he's fun to be around; the two of us have been hanging out since we first started at Higashizawa." He glanced at his watch, and at Aizawa, who was off in the distance, glancing at him half expectantly, and half disapprovingly. "Sorry, I've got to get going. My name is Ukita Akira, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Ukita-kun; I'll see you later," Garai said. He waved goodbye to Ukita, who hurried off to rejoin Aizawa while Garai resumed gathering his bag and school supplies.

Garai had difficulty taking Ukita's defense of his friend seriously. Perhaps Ukita was correct- at the very least, Ukita seemed to believe what he had said- but Garai had yet to see any evidence to suggest anything about Aizawa that was different than what he saw. In fact, if Ukita's claim that Aizawa was nicer than most originally thought was true, by that same logic, perhaps there could be evidence that Ukita had less pleasant hidden depths to him.

The entire encounter had revealed a fair amount of what the boys in the school were like. Cliques from their previous schools often carried over to their new one, especially among the former Higashizawa students. Even if their friends were not joining them at Oarai, they often hung out with the same types of people that they had before. It was thus difficult for Garai, who was as much a stranger to the former Higashizawa boys as to the Oarai girls, to fit in. To some of those closed-minded students and insular groups, there was no room for a boy who did what was traditionally a girls' activity. Even with the rest, Garai faced an uphill battle breaking the ice and integrating himself.

But the rest of the boys did not matter. Garai had found his niche in Oarai, if not a traditional one. His comrades in tankery had accepted him, and even though Garai sometimes wondered whether they had good reason to do so, he knew that he was at home in the tankery team. He thus resolved to stay there for as long as he was able.

Having made up his mind, and having his mood improved, Garai hurried off to join his teammates for lunch.

* * *

As Mako and Saori walked to school one morning, a few days after Garai had started at Oarai and joined its tankery team, their conversation shifted to him.

"So, Saori, a boy has appeared in your life- what now?" Mako said, having forced herself awake relatively early for a chance to talk to Saori about this. Getting to school on time had gotten easier, enough so that she could do it regularly, but getting up any earlier than that required a great deal of effort for Mako.

"Uh… not much, according to the previous student council," Saori said evasively. "We're not allowed to date the male students, you know."

"This, coming from a girl who stood up to _that same_ student council so that a girl she'd just recently met wouldn't get pressured into taking tankery, and only stood down when the girl in question changed her mind?" Mako said skeptically.

"Well, with all the girls in the school- I think it's still well over a 3:1 girl-boy ratio- there's no guarantee he'll pick me- if, that is, he's interested in girls at all- and also…" After quickly transitioning from one excuse to another, Saori trailed off and sighed. "All right, you got me, Mako. I've searched for a boy for so long that I never really thought about what I would do if I ever found one. I suppose I thought after I won the tournament, one or more would just come to me."

"And then from those boys who came forth, you would find the 'right' one?" Mako said.

"That sounds about right," Saori said. "In the later stages of that tournament, that fell to a secondary priority as I worked to keep the school open, to stay with you and everyone else. But now that we're done with that, and have a chance to go back to… lower stakes tankery games… I'm starting to think about continuing to try for one."

"Hm…." Mako said thoughtfully as she contemplated what Saori had told her.

"And before you ask, no, I don't yet know whether Garai is anything close to right for me," Saori said. "If I jump in without thinking, I could cost myself more than the chance at a romantic relationship. And I wasn't lying or making excuses when I said the rules were an impediment- who knows whether they'd scare him off, or how we'd proceed?"

"I suppose you're figuring out that reality rarely meets your expectations, especially as far as romance goes?" Mako said. "Your Prince Charming doesn't just walk into your life, leading you to recognize him as such instantly and fall in love at first sight, right?"

"I guess you could say that," Saori said. "Dad told me once that things in life hardly ever work out anything close to the way they do in fairy tales, but when they do work out, they're more fulfilling."

Mako silently listened, and nodded to Saori, conceding her point. She had heard that Saori's father had met Saori's mother through a dating service after graduating from college, two years after his college girlfriend broke up with him because of pressure from her parents. Saori's mother had admired her first crush from afar, only to discover that he did not view her in nearly the same way. Neither had been the other's first love or the person they had always seen themselves getting together with, but they fell in love, were happily married, raised a daughter together and had no regrets about any of that.

Mako's life had been difficult in many ways, but she, in spite of her laziness, recognized a meaningful triumph when she saw one. For the moment, all she could do for her friend was hope that she would find the right person for her, and recognize the opportunity when it came.

"But there is one thing I'm sure about," Saori said. "I'm glad Garai came here."

"Same here," Mako said.

* * *

The Oarai students also had their studies in addition to their tankery practice, and as part of them, they had a math test and an essay. Each was preceded by a great deal of effort put into studying and writing, while each was followed by students worrying to various degrees about how well they would do, based in part on their academic skill and self-confidence.

"So, how did everyone do?" Miho said as she met the rest of Team Anglerfish and Yukari in the tankery hangar.

"Ok, I guess," Saori said, unenthusiastically, showing a 82 in math and an 80 in writing, then glanced over to Miho's tests, in which she scored a 96 in math and a 95 in writing, "Wow, great job, Miporin!"

"Thanks, Saori-san," Miho said, "even if it isn't quite as good as what my sister usually gets." Maho was among the top students in her grade at Black Forest. "How about you, Hana-san?"

"Very well, thank you," Hana said, showing her tests- a 92 in math and a 94 on the writing essay.

"I did fairly well," Yukari said, showing a 89 in math and an 85 on writing.

"Nothing too surprising here," Mako said, showing perfect grades on her math test and essay.

"What about you, Suou-kun?" Miho said.

Garai turned around his papers. He had scored a 99 on his math test, but only a 79 on his essay.

"That's better than most of us in math," Miho said.

"Math tests are kind of a joke around here," Mako said cynically.

"Don't say that, Mako," Saori said. "Sure, they're easy for you, but they're harder for a lot of other people who may not be good at math. Can't you be happy that Garai's almost as good as you in math?"

"I'm not saying I'm not happy for him, but Saotome-sensei's tests are often math problems pulled from the books," Mako said. "I think she's not good at teaching anything other than rote memorization. Master that and you've mastered the class."

"You have a point, Reizei-san," Garai said. "I actually didn't think I was all that good at math, or school in general."

"If that's true," Mako said, "then it shouldn't be too hard for the others to get up to or near your level if they take some pointers from you."

"Glad I could help," Garai said with a smile.

"So what was the question you got wrong?" Miho said, and Garai showed her his paper, pointing out the mistake. "I see… a simple calculation error near the end of the problem. It seems you missed that 2x near the end." Miho and the other girls, even Saori, had gotten that problem correct, though none of them mentioned or even noticed that detail.

"But the good thing is that we all passed our tests," Saori said. "It'd be a problem if any of us failed, since while we're required to have an elective, we have to keep our grades up to compete in tournaments."

"That's right," Miho said. "We need all hands available for the tournament or other matches given the number of people we have. And more than that, I'd like to keep doing tankery with everyone included."

* * *

Tank practice that day concluded, and Garai's performance as loader had improved substantially. He had surpassed Haruka of the student council, and even the new loaders of Anteater and Leopon team, although most of the loaders who had filled their positions last year were still better than he was in the heat of battle, in which staying calm and at peak performance were as important as speed.

Afterward, Miho and the others gathered around to talk with Garai in hopes of learning more about him.

"So, Suou-kun, where are you from?" Miho said. "Some of the boys apparently came from schools that shut down, while others transferred from other schools, while the first-years were just starting high school, and might have intended to go to one that's no longer open."

"Transferred?" Garai said. The first possibility was self-explanatory, while the third did not apply to him as a third year.

"Since you're a third year, Miporin's curious about where you were going before or why you left," Saori said. "You know, something like your family moving, one of your parents getting a new job or getting transferred, you confessing to someone and getting turned down, that sort of thing."

"My family…" Garai said hesitantly. "They… didn't factor into my decision."

An awkward silence ensued as Garai's teammates and Yukari looked at him and each other, processing what he had said and trying to gauge the mood. What more could they say when, to them, it seemed clear that Garai had no desire to discuss his parents any further? Around the time that they concluded that they should talk about anything but Garai's family, Saori broke the silence.

"You know what this place has that your old place probably didn't?" Saori said. "Potato-flavored ice cream! We should go there, sometime!"

"That is a wonderful idea, Saori-san!" Hana said. "Would you be interested in going there some time, Suou-kun?"

"Yeah," Garai said, his expression brightening. "Potato flavored ice cream sounds like something I haven't had before, but they have other flavors, right?"

"They do," Miho said. "At the very least, they have standard flavors like chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, so you should find something you like there."

The girls smiled as Saori's attempt at changing the subject succeeded. But none of them could deny that the conversation after that seemed more awkward and forced than it had been before, as Garai's apparent lack of family became a proverbial elephant in the room.

* * *

After eating ice cream out, Garai waved goodbye to the girls and prepared to go on his way home. However, he barely was a few feet down his separate path until he noticed Mako walking alongside him, after a whispered exchange with Saori.

"Hey," Mako said. "You want to talk about earlier?"

Garai nodded, hoping to hear what Mako had to say first.

"I've known Saori a long time," Mako said. "She's not the best in academics and occasionally comes off as a boy-crazy ditz, but she knows people surprisingly well. At first I thought it was just because I was her friend that she understood me well, but I've noticed that she can tell when things are upsetting people, and change the subject, even if she's only met them recently. This was true for Miho when she first started here, and I think the same applies to you."

"That makes sense," Garai said. "I'm grateful that Takebe-san stepped in; it wasn't going to be easy to talk about my family or give an excuse for not doing so."

"And there's another thing, too," Mako said. "I'm also the type who doesn't talk about her family much, so I have some idea where you're coming from. Saori understands that fact, as well as the reason why it's a difficult subject for me. In my case, my parents died in an accident while I was in elementary school- to make matters worse, the last time I spoke with my mother, I had an argument with her."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Reizei-san," Garai said.

Mako gave a slight smile in appreciation. "I suppose now you know why my friends don't talk about it much," she said. "Saori, the only person you and I know who heard about it from me, remained quiet about it until my grandmother, my only remaining family, was hospitalized, at which point she told our friends on my request, around the time Miho's…" Mako cleared her throat, stopping herself short.

"What's this about Nishizumi-san?" Garai said, confused.

"Sorry, I don't think it's my place to tell you; you'll have to ask Miho," Mako said. "But in any event, around that time, I remembered that while my parents were gone, I still had fond memories of them, and learned to appreciate those memories, as well as the lessons I had learned from them."

Garai sighed. He recognized Mako's advice as a good way to keep perspective, but felt as though it would be applicable to almost everyone besides him.

"That's the problem," he said. "All I know about my family is that they're gone; I have no memories of them- odd, considering that I'm otherwise good at remembering things. The only part I remember is having a younger sister named Mariko, but I apparently lost contact with her at some point. I don't even know if she's alive, or if she even knows I exist. I remember growing up in a special facility, but that's it."

An uncomfortable silence ensued between them. Garai was unsure of what more he could say, and Mako was unsure of what she could say in response.

"I honestly don't know what to say," Mako said. "There are some like Miho, who, despite not showing much of their problems, need a comforting hand or a kind word to get through. There are some like Hana, who typically act strong and simply ask those close to them who share their pain to not suffer as well. There are also those like myself, who don't care much for giving or receiving meaningless gestures of sympathy, although it doesn't necessarily signify that we're not having a hard time."

"I see…" Garai said as he pondered what Maho said. "I honestly hope that what I said didn't come off as insincere to you." Mako shook her head with a slight smile and Garai, relieved, continued. "I suppose I only said what came to mind, which I felt would be most appropriate."

"Unfortunately, although you seem to be in the first type, like Miho, I don't know what I say that can help," Mako said. "The only thing that I can say is that if you have no memories, you also are free of regrets. If you've managed to get this far, then you most likely have a great deal of strength in you, and, whatever happened to them, your parents must have known it as well. Eventually, regardless of whether they're ready, parents have to let their children go out into the world, and as the time came for yours, they must have realized you were, or would be, ready."

"Thank you for the talk, Reizei-san," Garai said.

After walking on for a little while longer in silence, Mako took a few steps off to the side after crossing the street, and stopped.

"My place is over that way," Mako said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Garai."

"See you then, Reizei-san," Garai said, waving goodbye as their paths diverged.

As Garai went home, he found himself surprised to realize how much he had admitted to Mako, even in his hasty attempt to brush off the conversation about his family. But when he realized how much she had told him about herself, and what she had almost told him about Miho, he simply concluded that it was natural for friends to be open with each other. Even so, he conceded to himself that there was still a great deal he had not told them, and wondered if he would ever be truly ready to tell them.

* * *

The next day at school, tankery practice continued. As Garai had gotten the hang of loading quickly enough, Yukari was spending all of her training time with Mallard Team. The team had come far since the match with Pravda, but was still one of the less experienced teams. Yukari had to come to terms with the fact that Gomoyo was a far cry from Mako as a driver, and Pazomi had neither Yukari's skill as a loader nor Hana's skill as a gunner. But they had improved quite a bit since the new year had begun, as had the others, especially Anteater Team, Leopon Team and Turtle Team.

"Thank you so much for helping us, Akiyama-san," Gomoyo said. "Sodoko tried her best as commander, but she said she never saw tankery as anything other than temporary, and as such, there was a limit to how helpful she could be, and how much she would improve."

"It's my pleasure," Yukari said. "A lot of people see tankery as quite intimidating, with five separate tasks that must be done well individually and in concert. There's little that makes me happier than helping people get the skills they need to climb over that wall and learn just how much fun and how fulfilling tankery can be."

Yukari knew that it took more than confidence in one's tankery skill, an enjoyment of tankery and a basic grasp of one's role to win official matches. But she realized that many of the Oarai tankery team had begun with none of these, and she believed that the newer members could rise to the occasion as those who came before them had, especially considering how little the disparity in their experience was. Whatever opponents awaited Oarai's revived tankery team, it would still be possible for them to win.

* * *

After tankery practice concluded, the student council approached Miho.

"Nishizumi-san, we have a message for you," Haruka said, handing a printed e-mail to Miho. Miho read over the e-mail, which was written by someone named "Nishizawa Sasuke," although the stilted, formal writing and the lack of first-person pronouns gave the impression that he wrote it on behalf of someone else.

"Shirosame Academy challenges us to a tank match?" Miho said, turning to Yukino. "I'm willing to accept, provided that doing so meets with the student council's approval, President, but... I've never heard of them."

"You have our permission," Yukino said, "although I didn't see anything in the letter that indicated it was _asking_ us whether we wanted to participate. It reads like a commanding officer mailing deployment orders to a soldier- it's an order, not a request."

"They can't seriously compel us to attend, can they?" Miho said. "According to tankery rules, the worst that can happen to a school that is a no-show in a tankery tournament is disqualification. In exhibition matches, being a no-show without a good reason is typically a black mark on a school's reputation, but little else happens."

"Maybe it's just me," Yukino said, "but I can't help but feel as though they're not taking such a tone out of mere bravado or arrogance, even if they do seem to possess the latter. Besides, it might be a good opportunity to test how the three of us, as well as the other new members, are doing compared to our peers, and how the teams with a different makeup, like yours, are faring."

"There is another matter," Shizune said. "Shirosame Academy, as well as its tankery crew, is entirely male. Not only that, they were, until recently, unaware of _anyone_ _besides_ _males_ being involved in tankery."

* * *

**Omake**

Miho lay in bed, dreaming about the past. Unfortunately for her, the dreams that came to here were not always pleasant ones, if not all of those were traumatic.

She found herself back in the tank café, eating her dessert with teammates, shortly after the tournament brackets for the last tournament had been set.

"Vice-captain?" Erika's voice came, causing Miho to remember when it was. Almost on cue, as Miho remembered, she then followed up with a snarky "Oh, that would be _former_ vice-captain."

Miho then turned to her sister, remembering that she had also been there around the same time she noticed her.

"Onee-chan…" Miho said.

"I didn't think you'd still be doing tankery," Maho said. Miho found hearing it in the dream as painful as she did back then. Despite understanding that Maho truly loved and cared for her, it still hurt to hear her sister speak to her in an aloof way, and Maho enjoyed acting in such a way as little as Miho enjoyed hearing her do it.

"If I may say something, I don't think Miho-san's decision was incorrect" a voice across the table from Miho said.

The words sounded familiar. But Miho was surprised to hear that _Garai_ was the one saying them, having stood up from where Yukari had sat that day.

"_I hadn't met him back then…" _Miho thought. _"And didn't Yukari-san say what he did?"_

"_What_ did you say?!" Erika said defensively, instead of in her usual smug tone.

"You heard me," Garai said. "The next time you dare criticize Miho-san for trying to save lives rather than winning some stupid tankery game, imagine how it would feel if _you_ or someone you cared for- if any such people exist for you- were in the sinking tank. Would you rather have what would have happened to them without your intervention on your conscience?"

"Th-Those are the rationalizations of someone who always loses," Erika said. Miho knew that Erika was, in spite of her ego, thin-skinned, but remembered that Erika had considered Yukari's argument unworthy of a proper rebuttal.

"Here's something for you and the others in that ivory tower of yours," Garai said, mimicking the essence of Mako's taunt to Erika, and some of her word choices. "You've never faced a team like us before. They say trying new things is good, so allow us to introduce you to defeat."

Barely containing her anger, Erika stormed off in a huff, and Maho followed, her expression one of quiet awe.

As Miho woke up, her mind flashed back to the dream. In it, Garai inserted himself into her past. He did many of the things that her friends- primarily Yukari, his predecessor as loader- had done. And he did so with more success, as well as confidence that was uncharacteristic of him. What did it all mean?

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

severstal

Regarding the titles, Mako will later make fun of them, noting that she finds them, and the STU as an organization, rather pretentious and arrogant; to put things into perspective, the STU Council make Erika look humble by comparison, and she makes it known at a few points how little she thinks of them. On the other hand, it should be noted that at least one member of the Council is using his title to hide his real identity.

Joannes808

It's worth pointing out that Erika and Shiho oppose what the STU does, although not for the most benevolent reasons (they think they're arrogant and haven't earned what they plan on taking for themselves- which is true but also a perception born from their elitist view of tankery). The STU is wrong, but might it be possible that tankery is in need of some significant and revitalizing change? Quite a few fics here have seemingly taken a stab at answering the question of whether and how tankery needs to change, and it will be addressed here as well.

As for the rest, the story's still in its opening phase; it's expected to be about 25 chapters long, and the details are slowly being revealed over time.

With Tankery being dominated by females, I imagine that there are some misogynistic types who believe that it is only meant for females, while males should only crew actual tanks.

One has to wonder how Saori would react if she met a boy she was potentially interested in without him expressing an interest in her. My guess is that, given her lack of romantic experience, and how anticipating seems to be better than having, she would be unsure of how to proceed.

Interestingly enough, Girls Und Panzer doesn't seem to have much of a shipping fanbase at all outside of Canon/OC pairings, possibly due to a lack of ship tease within the show itself.

My interpretation of how the girls, besides Mako, who is at the top of the class, do in school is largely a guess, based on their general intelligence.

The omake was meant to reflect a trend I've noticed in fanfics, in which people often revisit the scene in which Erika and Maho encounter Anglerfish Team in the café, and the OCs of the fic proceed to tell off Erika more effectively than Yukari and Mako did- I'm not sure if it's more due to them wanting to give their OCs a Crowning Moment of Awesome, or because they don't like Erika. As for what meaning Miho got from the dream (if any), I'll leave that up to your interpretation. A secondary reason for including that was to revisit the scene in light of the revelation in Little Army that Maho cares for Miho and that her aloof behavior is a façade. I'm leaving Miho's reasons for the dream, and what, if any, message she can draw for it, up to interpretation.

**Ending Theme Team:** New Mallard Team


	3. A Familiar Story

**Chapter 3: A Familiar Story**

_Elsewhere, some time ago_

Nishizawa Sasuke's slumber was interrupted by his alarm clock ringing. Bolting awake, he immediately turned off the alarm, and quickly moved to take off his covers and get out of his pajamas, almost by memory.

"Ah, yes, I'm not at home anymore," he said, realizing that he was no longer a student at Rhineland Academy, but at Shirosame Academy.

After changing into his uniform, a white gyakuran, Sasuke walked out of his apartment and through town, taking in the local sights.

"A bakery…" he said. "I didn't have one like it back home."

Distracted by those, he collided with a pole.

"Ouch…" he said. "I'd better watch where I'm going."

Having regained his composure, he overheard several of his schoolmates talking with each other about their lunch plans. He couldn't help but feel happy for them, but also felt a twinge of sadness. Despite believing that his decision to transfer schools was the right one, he was still pained by everything he had left behind in the process.

* * *

As lunch came around, he prepared to eat alone yet again, but accidentally dropped his eraser, and, as a result of bumping into his desk while trying to retrieve it, dropped the rest of his school supplies as well. While retrieving his supplies, he was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey man, you want to have lunch?" a boy with somewhat spiky orange hair said.

"Look, Makoto-kun, you scared Nishizawa-kun," a boy with neatly trimmed and combed black hair said.

"Sorry about that," Makoto said.

"Anyway, would you like to have lunch with us?" The black-haired boy said.

"With me?" Sasuke said, and the other two nodded.

"We succeeded in picking him up," Makoto said.

"We wanted to talk with you, Nishizawa-kun," Kaoru said.

"You seemed interesting," Makoto said. "I'm-

"Nakai Makoto-kun and Kotetsu Kaoru-kun?" Sasuke said. The two boys nodded.

"You really do seem interesting, Nishizawa-kun," Makoto said as they stood in line. "Oh, can I call you by your first name?"

"Please do," Sasuke said, and the three friends proceeded to their seat in the lunchroom.

"I'm glad I was finally able to make friends," Sasuke said. "I moved here by myself."

"I guess stuff like that happens," Makoto said. "Like a complicated love triangle, or the girl you like leaves before you can confess your love, or your girlfriend cheats on you with four other guys."

"Did something happen with your family?" Kaoru said. "A family feud or an inheritance dispute?"

"Or did your parents get transferred to a different office or something?" Makoto asked.

Silence followed Makoto's question. Makoto and Kaoru were unsure whether their questions had been more accurate than they had expected, or if the truth was simply worse than they had imagined. In either case, it was not a comfortable subject for Sasuke, and Kaoru moved to change it.

"In that case, we should eat before it gets cold," he said, digging in to his food, which was in significantly larger portions than Makoto or Sasuke's food.

* * *

After the next class ended, as Sasuke was discussing Kaoru's kendo practice, and Makoto's so far fruitless quest to pick up a girlfriend, the three-member Shirosame student council. walked into the room, and pointed at Sasuke.

"Hey, Nishizawa!" Akasaka Byakuya, president of the student council said.

"That's the president and vice president, along with public relations" Makoto said, as the student council walked over.

"We need to talk," Kurono Karasu, public relations representative, said, as he and the other student council members ominously loomed over Sasuke.

"For your mandatory elective, take tankery," Byakuya said, adding "thanks" after a pause in which he pretended that Sasuke had said yes.

"But I thought this school didn't have tankery" Sasuke said.

"We're starting it back up this year," Karasu said.

"I transferred here because I thought this school didn't have tankery!" Sasuke said.

"Sounds like fate to me!" Byakuya said. "Though, I suppose you could only have hoped to avoid it at a girls only school."

"I thought we could take whichever elective we wanted," Sasuke said

"Anyway, thanks!" Byakuya said, slapping Sasuke on the back. Byakuya, Karasu and Shirogane Kariya, vice president, then walked off without another word, assuming that Sasuke's decision was set.

* * *

"And for the next question, Nishizawa-kun," the teacher said as Sasuke sat in his seat for class, staring blankly as he did in when the student council had departed.

Sasuke remained silent, the teacher's words not registering with him as his mind remained on the student council's demanding him to get involved with tankery.

"Sasuke," Makoto said.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling ill?" the teacher said. "You should go to the nurse's office."

Sasuke got up and walked to the nurse's office.

"Sensei, I've got stomach pains!" Makoto said.

"My body is aching from kendo practice," Kaoru said. In truth, it had been a while since Kaoru had practiced

But Kaoru's excuse worked well enough this time, as did Makoto's and the teacher excused the three of them to go to the nurse's office.

* * *

After the three students lay down in their beds, and the nurse departed, Sasuke's friends decided to ask him about the cause of his trouble.

"What did the student council president say to you?" Makoto said.

"He said he'd be bringing tankery back this year."

"Tankery?" Kaoru said. "You mean the art for young men with a lot of history?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Makoto said.

"He said to take tankery as my elective."

"Why?" Makoto said. "Is he trying to bully you? Or are you, the president, and some other girl involved in a love triangle?"

"He went out of his way to pick you for tankery," Kaoru said. "Nishizawa-kun, are you perhaps a fighter who's been through several wars?"

Sasuke sighed. He had hoped to avoid disclosing the true reason behind his coming to this school, but it had become relevant the moment the student council began their efforts to recruit him.

"The truth is, the men in my family have a long history of riding tanks," Sasuke said. "But I didn't have a lot of good experiences with tanks, so I came to this school to avoid them."

"Then why even force yourself to do it in the first place?" Makoto said. "Besides, high school boys don't really do tankery now, anyway."

"If you're going to refuse the student council," Kaoru said. "We will go with you."

Comforted by Kaoru and Makoto's words of support, Sasuke felt ready to get going again when the PA system called him and the rest of the students down to an assembly.

* * *

"We're going to start our orientation on mandatory electives," Karasu said to the gathered students.

A film strip began to play. The film was a relatively old one on tankery, first shot around the advent of color video.

"Tankery, a part of our culture for many years. It is taken by many boys throughout the world," the narrator said. "It is an art that makes boys and men alike more determined, courageous and strong. It could be said that tankery is to train the part of you that makes you masculine. Through participating, you will become as able to protect others as the tank's armor, as unyielding as the tank's advance on its tracks, and as forceful as a shell striking true on its target. Come fulfill your elective requirement, bring glory to your school and become the ideal man. If you train in tankery, you will become a better father, a better husband, and a better worker. You will become stronger, a better leader, and women all over the world will like you. Everyone should train in tankery to become stronger and manlier men."

"Amazing…" Kaoru said.

"A few months ago, it was decided that there would be a tankery tournament to determine the strength of our country's tankery traditions compared to others," Karasu said. "And as such, the government asked high schools to revive their tankery programs, to show the strength of our country's tankery traditions compared to others."

"So our school's starting tankery back up," Byakuya said. "And we will offer many special benefits for those who participate. Vice President?"

"To those who participate and do well," Kariya said, "We will award 100 meal tickets at the cafeteria, 200 'get out of jail free cards for being late, and three times the credit of a normal class."

Asahina Kazuki, Makoto's friend, sat up, with rapt attention, brushing his unkempt dark hair with his right hand. He'd finally found his solution to his constant tardiness, which had gotten to the point at which he was at risk of being held back if he was unable to wipe his slate clean. That was all he cared about, and all the reason he needed to get involved with tankery.

Moriya Kouta needed no further convincing to get involved with tankery, having been a fan of tanks since he was young, and able to recite all the details about them. He had found an outlet for his passion now, and he was grateful for that.

But the decision was far less simple for Sasuke.

* * *

"I'm interested," Makoto said. "Girls like strong, manly guys who can protect them and their families, so I should be able to become one if I do it. You should do it too, Sasuke."

"I understand where Nishizawa-kun is coming from," Kaoru said. "My family has a long history of doing Kendo, but I wanted to do something with more modern warfare technology," Kaoru then stopped and turned. "I'm going to do Tankery, too. Nishizawa-kun, please teach us what you know."

"You'll make it to the top if you do it!" Makoto said.

Sasuke stood, at a loss for words. He understood and sympathized with his new friends' goals and motivations. But could he truly return to tankery, even if it was to help them? Was striving to fulfill the hopes of his friends by doing something he no longer liked any different from his struggle to live up to the expectations that had been placed on him in the past?

* * *

At night, Sasuke looked at the blank elective form. Tankery's box loomed large on the page, three times as wide and twice as tall as each of the other nine elective choices.

The mere mention of tankery brought Sasuke's mind back to the past- specifically, his team's defeat in the last tournament. He recalled climbing out of his tank, tumbling down the slope that the tank in front of him had slid down, and diving into the water after the tank. As he pried open the hatch and freed the crew members from where they were trapped, he heard the sound of the Romanov Academy tank cannon firing and disabling the flag tank he had left behind.

Sasuke knew what had happened after that. Rhineland Academy suffered its first defeat in a decade, and everyone blamed him. His father, Taisuke, and older brother, Sousuke, were especially harsh on him, both accusing him of not just failing his teammates, but also his duty to uphold the family honor. To them, tankery was all about one's strength, specifically becoming as strong as possible and proving one's strength in matches with others, a bastardized version of tankery's original commitment toward making men with who had strong minds, wills and integrity. Giving less than one's all was unacceptable, and defeat was out of the question.

There was nothing fun or pleasant about having so much scrutiny and pressure put on him, so Sasuke came to Shirosame to escape all that. And now, it seemed the student council was planning to subject him to that again.

"_I'm sorry, Nakai-kun, Kotetsu-kun,"_ he thought. _"But I can't possibly go back to tankery now. Not when so much is asked of me."  
_

* * *

The next day, Sasuke's friends looked at his circle, in the spot for the calligraphy elective.

"I'm sorry…" Sasuke said. "I can't do tankery."

Kaoru and Makoto glanced at each other. They had understood from their conversation the previous day that Sasuke had disliked tankery. Now, given seemingly every reason to participate- the student council's pressure, a film extolling tankery's virtues, the offered incentives and the chance to do it with his first friends at Shirosame- he was showing no sign of reconsidering or doubting his decision. The more Sasuke remained firm in his decision not to participate, the less certain Kaoru and Makoto were in theirs to participate.

"Then let's do the same thing as you," Sasuke said, as he and Kaoru crossed out their circle for tankery and put it into the same box that Sasuke had chosen.

"No, you two should do tankery," Sasuke said.

"It's all right," Kaoru said. "If we did, you might end up thinking about things you don't want to remember.

"I do whatever the girls like," Makoto said. "And if that happens to be something other than tankery, so be it."

* * *

Sasuke was sure of his decision as he submitted his registration form after class. But in spite of that, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as he overheard the students talking about their decisions to take tankery, whether because they liked tanks or hoped to impress their current or desired girlfriends. Suddenly, the loudspeaker crackled to life, interrupting Sasuke and his friends' conversations, as well as those around them.

"Standard Class 1, Nishizawa Sasuke," Karasu said twice over the loudspeaker. "Come to the student council room immediately."

"What should I do?" Sasuke said, frozen in terror but realizing that the Student Council would bring him before them even if they had to drag him there.

"We'll go with you," Makoto said. Kaoru nodded.

The three friends , laying their palms together, decided to set out to the student council office for a confrontation with three of their most powerful schoolmates.

* * *

"Why did you take this?" Karasu said, holding up Sasuke's registration form. "There's almost no one in our school with tankery experience."

"Do you realize what you've done?" Kariya said accusingly. "Our school can't hope to win without you."

"Don't be so selfish," Makoto said.

"That is correct," Kaoru said. "He said he does not want to do it, and now you intend to force him?"

"Makoto's not gonna do tankery!" Makoto said.

"Please give up on Nishizawa-kun," Kaoru said.

"Well, in that case, it seems I'll- I mean Shirogane will- have to write up the paperwork for his expulsion," Byakuya said.

"I can't believe you're threatening us!" Kaoru said.

"It's not a threat," Karasu said. "The president is always serious, and he's done it before."

"So, why don't you reconsider your stances as well, Kotetsu-kun, Nakai-kun?" Kariya said. "Otherwise, I'll end up having to write up _three_ of those forms."

"_Those two want to do tankery,"_ Sasuke thought. _"But they're trying their best for me, even knowing the risk it bears for them. And so…"_

"I'll do tankery!" Sasuke said.

Smug and triumphant grins spread across the faces of the Student Council, while Sasuke's new friends gasped in surprise.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Sasuke?" Makoto said as the three ate ice cream in the evening after Sasuke made his decision. "You don't have to force yourself."

"I was happy," Sasuke said. "You two went so far for me. That was the first time something like that ever happened before. No one ever thought about my feelings. My father and brother always thought of tankery as something we just did. Well, they have talent, so it's fine for them, but I was always…"

Sasuke trailed off, and Kaoru and Makoto offered him bites of their ice cream. Whatever lay in store for them in the tankery team, they would at least enjoy this night as friends.

* * *

There was much work ahead for the Shirosame tankery team, even before they first began the tournament. They had to find tanks for their crew, and they were able to locate a Panzer IV, StUG, Type 89, M3 Lee, and Pz 38 around the school, in places such as in a tank garage, at the bottom of a pond, and in a cave under a cliff. They trained under the guidance of Instructor Shouji Genya, a former student of Sasuke's father, Taisuke.

Under Sasuke's leadership, the team easily won each of its battles, beginning with a practice match against King Henry Academy, and continuing as they advanced from one round to the next in the high school tankery tournament Even Sasuke's father and older brother were grudgingly forced to concede his skill after Sasuke defeated Sosuke and the rest of his old school in the finals.

Sasuke was pleased, having started to enjoy tankery again. He knew the Student Council was using him and the others to bolster their own egos and leave behind a legacy for themselves at Shirosame. While he did not care for that idea, he was happy that they had brought him back into tankery, and he was also proud of what he and his friends had accomplished together. But he knew that more challenges awaited him in the future, and relished the prospect of the next one coming to him.

* * *

"This may be sudden, but the headmaster has an announcement to make," Karasu said, as the Student Council called the tankery team to the auditorium where the recruitment presentation had been held, some time after the victory in the tournament.

Hyaku Ichigo, headmaster of Shirosame Academy, stepped to the podium.

"Thank you, Kurono-kun," he said. "Gentlemen of the tankery class, I would again like to congratulate you on winning the tournament, an unprecedented feat in our school's history. Our school was once a force to be reckoned with in tankery, and it pleases me greatly to see that we are again. However, we should not rest on our laurels, even if we have defeated such esteemed tankery teams as those of King Henry Academy, Jefferson High School, Romanov High School, and the until recently undefeated Rhineland Academy. We now are being asked to challenge Oarai Academy, which, as strange as it may sound, is an all-girls' school that does tankery."

Gasps of surprise went up from the assembled boys.

"Questions, gentlemen?" the headmaster said. Sasuke raised his hand. "You have the floor, Nishizawa-kun."

"They have girls' schools that do tankery?" Sasuke said incredulously.

"Yes, and it's exclusively female for them," the headmaster said, "And there are certain interested parties that want to see how we do against them, as they reportedly have accomplishments similar to ours, having defeated schools with better tanks, more crew members, and a history of winning tournaments. Their commander is Nishizumi Miho, second daughter to a tankery school held back by impractical and backward traditions, including passing the inheritance of the school from mother to daughter. Some, such as myself, believe that those girls have simply spent too long fighting amongst themselves, and that faced with a truly worthy opponent, a male team, they will realize their inferiority. They might be the best of the girls, but they can't hope to compare to the best young men in tankery, who carry on the male tradition of fighting in tanks."

Sasuke found himself unwilling to agree with what the headmaster was saying. It seemed hasty, not to mention unfair, to dismiss the females' potential so easily. He had never seen females doing tankery before, and suspected that the headmaster's opposition was out of fear of the unknown. A certain amount of that fear was present in Sasuke, as he wondered how he would fare against Oarai Academy, a school he knew nothing about until that day, and knew less than he would like now.

"That's all," the headmaster said. "I will be passing out some registration forms. Please fill them out and return them as soon as you can."

As Sasuke scanned the registration forms, he began to wonder if the headmaster's agenda was truly his own, or that of the organization to which he belonged. The idea that they saw the match as nothing more than a way to advance their agenda did not sit well with him, who believed that there were things more important than winning.

But Sasuke was determined to win the upcoming match with Oarai. He wanted to prove to his father and brother that his way of doing tankery was not wrong, even if they had not been fully convinced after he had won the tournament. He wanted to bring victory to the friends who had stood up for him before. He had wanted to win for his school, the place he considered his alma mater even after leaving Rhineland Academy, and would have even had he failed to win the final round. And most of all, he wanted to enjoy doing tankery together with his friends.

"_Nishizumi Miho…_" he thought as he began filling out the form. _"I may not be fighting for the headmaster's sexist agenda, for the arrogant student council's ego, or for the same perfectionist ideals my father and brother practice. But for the sake of everyone who I fight alongside, and the ideals I fight for, I will defeat you."_

* * *

**Omake**

After the headmaster's talk to the team, Sasuke was approached by Komoda Ichirou, more commonly known as "Kennedy", a member of the historical club in Shirosame and driver of the StUG and Rhino Team. Kennedy wore his gyakuran with the top unbuttoned, showing that he wore a dress shirt and necktie underneath.

"Do you have a minute, Commander Nishizawa?" Kennedy said.

"Certainly," Sasuke said. Most Shirosame students who knew Kennedy would have started preemptively rolling their eyes at this point, but Sasuke was open-minded and a good listener, a fact Kennedy appreciated.

"Did it seem to you like the headmaster and the student council were hiding something when they talked about the match with Oarai?" Kennedy said.

"I think they were more or less upfront about their goals, and their ulterior motives were easy to discern," Sasuke said. "The headmaster clearly doesn't like women getting involved in tankery. And the Student Council wants one more achievement to their name before they graduate."

"Yeah, but what if we were fighting to keep the school open?" Kennedy said. "This place isn't the most famous or best-funded school, so it would make sense that if the government were cutting back and it got bad enough, this would be one of the first schools to go- unless they somehow found a way to stop it by winning the tournament."

"This again, Kennedy?" Tanaka Masamitsu, also known as Patton, commander of the team, said, as he walked up, with a US Army jacket from World War II over his uniform. "You really shouldn't be telling your conspiracy theories to the commander. We could overturn a decision by the education department to close a school just by winning a tournament? Ridiculous- Rhineland must have saved its own ass at least nine times in the past decade. And if you wanna get paranoid, you should consider that the headmaster's wishing he had been at a school with a better tankery program was written all over his face before we won."

"A house divided against itself cannot stand," Nakarai Jun, also known as Lincoln, said. He, the loader of the team, had a top hat and overcoat along with his uniform, and with what looked to be the beginnings of a beard on his face. "We should trust our administration and student government, in order to win in the next match, regardless of why they want us to participate or what they have planned."

"Forsooth," Yoshikawa Daichi, also known as Ben Franklin, said. He, the radio operator, wore an 18th century style wig and overcoat along with his uniform, and tried to match his speech to what he thought was the style used in the day, albeit with little success due to his skewed idea of how they talked back then. "This goal doth require our entire effort."

"All right, all right, sorry I brought up my weird theories again," Kennedy said, but he thought to himself, _"If only I could share my theories about this 'STU' organization that they made us all sign up for and how it wants to dominate tankery..." _"I'll see you later," he said, and Rhino Team then walked off.

Sasuke pondered the state of things for a moment. Not all of his teammates got along, and some actively disliked each other. But their cooperation was necessary to function as a team, much less win all the matches until now. Even if their differences remained unresolved, they could put them aside and fight for a common purpose.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

This chapter may appear to be a repeat of Episode 1, but that isn't entirely the case; you may also notice some subtle differences between here and the female tankery universe in canon. When the Shirosame boys meet the Oarai girls in the next chapter, more will become apparent (for example, Shirosame was never in any danger of closing, and they defeated their equivalent of St. Gloriana).

Sasuke's story is meant to represent some Original Characters with virtually identical pasts to the canonical characters, as well as provide a hint as to where the STU comes from. They intend to use him, as someone virtually identical to Miho apart from being male, as proof of male superiority in tankery.

One guiding principle, though, is to imagine most of the males here as like their female counterparts but without their hidden depths (for example, Mako can be inspired to overcome her laziness to help others, Kazuki doesn't care about anyone but himself). Interestingly enough, the Student Council comes off as a group of jerks when you don't consider their actual motives, as I've seen in some reproductions of the first episode's events, when Anzu makes a more overt threat to expel Miho (instead of implying that she won't be around next year- which is true if Oarai gets shut down).

It's also interesting to see how tankery or the virtues it's intended to promote come across when tailored to males. Strength (mainly inner, but to a lesser extent, physical) is one virtue I've often seen associated with men. It's also often used in a paternalistic sense, in which women, children and other vulnerable parties are viewed as in need of protection. In a darker sense, the Nishizawa school and the headmaster, as well as the STU, see tankery as a means to dominate others, particularly forcing women back into a subservient role.

One line I saw by an OC in a certain Girls Und Panzer fic argued that there was no reason for men to not command tanks in tankery, as men had operated tanks long before women have, and they still do today. This argument, while based on fact, struck me as somewhat sexist by seeming to imply that men had a longer tradition in serving in tanks, and possibly more of a right to participate in tankery, but you may have a different perspective.

Yoshikawa "Ben Franklin" way of talking was a parody of how various OCs in fan fiction talk with Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe for no good reason. In one Naruto fic, for example, the author claims that Madara, who is as out of character as virtually everyone else, talks this way because he went back in time to the 19th century (this is far from the strangest thing about this fic).

This is a double update, partly because the next chapter ties into and expands on this one, and partly to get back to Oarai.

**Ending Theme Team**: Shark Team and Rhino Team


	4. First Contact

**Chapter 4: First Contact  
**

"Shirosame is a boys' school with tankery?" Miho said. "I've never heard of any educational institutions of that sort before."

"Nor have I, Nishizumi-san," Yukino said. "I thought you, with all your tankery experience, might know something. They also sent me a student handbook and guide to Shirosame for prospective students."

Miho flipped through the material she was given. When she reached the section on electives, and found tankery's entry, she found the description surprising.

_Tankery_

_Learn how to crew a World War II-era tank alongside your friends and represent your school in tankery competitions. Become the ideal man and an asset to others, both at school and beyond!_

"Wait a minute…" Miho said. "Tankery was intended to help refine and make women stronger, regardless of what path they chose in life, whether a traditional female one or one that had, traditionally been fulfilled by males."

"Yes; in spite of not being very knowledgeable about tankery, I at least know that much, which is why I, too was surprised," Yukino said. "But one thing still puzzles me, and as much as I think otherwise, I don't think it's due to my inexperience with tankery. Nishizumi-san, have you ever wondered why males were excluded from tankery?"

"They've always piloted tanks, but it was in actual combat," Miho said. "Even back when women were forbidden from joining the military, tankery was considered a way of providing beneficial training to them through military technology, even if they never used it themselves in more practical applications. It's a bit like teaching women how to use the naginata, even if that was also considered a last resort for the women of noble samurai families to defend themselves."

"My mother taught me how to use the naginata," Shizune said, thinking back to her childhood in a wealthy and somewhat traditional family. "She said that I would not likely encounter a situation in which I would actually have to use it- even disregarding that we typically don't fight with edged weapons these days- but the practice would be good for me."

"As for men," Miho continued, "While there was never any 'official' reason given for not letting them join tankery, I think the general consensus was that men were supposed to join the military and learn how to actually fight in the service of their country. Military service is seen as a very patriotic thing, and to some extent, as good for the individuals who participate. Of course, these days, women have started joining the military as well, many of whom did tankery while they were in school."

"My aunt's a lieutenant in the JGSDF," Haruka said. "She keeps trying to convince my mom- her older sister- to get me to enlist when I'm old enough, saying it would teach me discipline and how to respect authority. She's apparently somewhat happier now that I've started doing tankery and the student council, but she hasn't backed off on that idea."

"Some more...traditionally minded people believed that it was a way for women to learn military discipline without actually fighting in a war," Miho said. "On the other hand, feminists used female success on the field of tankery to argue for allowing women to serve in the military. As more and more women began working outside the home, the focus of tankery shifted, and it was also promoted as good for female soldiers and civilian workers. And yet, in spite of that, tankery has remained a largely female tradition, although I have to wonder whether that might change one day."

"Sometimes, that happens, when some things don't quite overcome traditionally being reserved for one gender," Yukino said. "These days, women often wear business suits and even neckties, but you'll almost never see a guy with a skirt unless he's cross-dressing."

"But I do have to wonder, President, what is there for women where they come from, now that tankery is off limits to them?" Miho said. "Surely the military there wasn't exclusively female to begin with."

"I also asked them that question," Yukino said. "And they gave me an op-ed about it." She handed Miho a printout of the article.

Miho skimmed over the article, and eventually found her way to the end, in which the author, the headmaster of Shirosame, summarized his argument.

"_Women are not simply men with a differently shaped body; they have different dispositions, skillsets and talents. Those pushing for the inclusion of women in tankery fail to grasp this reality, as well as that women need different guidance than men. For the sake of our women, and our society, there are many roles that women are better off not performing, crewing a tank being one of them."_

"And he's head of the boys' school we're facing?" Miho said, prompting the student council to nod. "This could be troublesome if he defeats us, especially if he sees it as a propaganda victory of a sort- I think he mentioned at one point in the article that he wanted to prove the strength of his country's tankery traditions over those of others."

"That's true," Haruka said. "We've got to win decisively, so that they can't be encouraged by winning, or even almost winning."

"And also, Nishizumi-san," Yukino said. "You said you had never heard of Shirosame, correct?" Miho nodded. "I find it odd that a boys' school in our country- or any other, for that matter- would go into tankery without anyone making note of it being special or any other schools following suit."

"And the opposite is true," Haruka said. "Tankery may not be as well established as other sports, but anyone who isn't living under a rock has heard about it. I can't think of a rock big enough for an entire schoolship to fit under it and avoid hearing about female tankery, while keeping their male tank program secret. In this digital era, one person with access to the internet and enough acumen for getting the word out on the net could, with enough time, make this a hot topic on the Web."

Miho nodded.

"Whatever the case may be, and whatever the outcome in the match is, we'll likely end up with radically altered perceptions of the sport," Miho said. "Considering the implications, I think we should tell the rest of the team about this."

* * *

Miho called the team together and explained the situation, keeping it relatively short and to-the-point. She began by asking them to save their questions until she was finished, then proceeded to get the most difficult part out of the way- explaining that they had been challenged by a school full of boys.

Miho decided to conclude with what she considered the most important part.

"But regardless of who our opponent is, what kinds of tanks they have at their disposal, what tactics they use, or even the gender of their tank crews, we should continue to do what we always do," Miho said. "We fight, knowing that the match is not over until the winners fulfill their objective. We neither give up in the face of overwhelming odds nor do we become complacent if we have the advantage, out of the knowledge that it is possible for a strong opponent to lose to a weak one. And above all else, we cherish each other and the experience of piloting a tank,always keeping in mind that it is a game and having fun whatever may come our way."

The rest of the team cheered. Miho did not have a talent for public or motivational speech, but when she spoke naturally, honest and heartfelt speech came easily to her.

"That's all; let me know if you have any questions," she said.

No one initially stepped forward, so Miho walked back to rejoin the rest of Anglerfish Team. Soon, however, their juniors from Rabbit Team walked over to talk to them.

"Senpai, is it really true?" Sawa Azusa, commander of Rabbit Team, all of whom were now second years, said to Miho and Saori after the team had learned about the nature of their upcoming opponent. "Are we facing a school full of boys that do tankery?"

"Apparently so," Miho said, "and please keep in mind that where they come from, apparently _only_ boys do tankery."

"Yeah," Saori said. "I would consider asking one of them out, but I get the feeling that they'd probably think a woman's place is in the kitchen or something like that."

"But what about Suou-senpai?" Yamagou Ayumi, one of the gunners, said. "Might it be possible that they have a female on their team?"

"To my knowledge, no," Miho said. "What I heard indicated that they were quite adamant about how tankery was only for men."

"And do they want to change tankery so that only men can compete?" Isobe Noriko, captain of the Duck Team, as well as the volleyball team that had formed it, said, joining the discussion. Many of the tankery team members had gotten involved for reasons separate from tankery; Noriko and her team hoped to reform their club. But having had enough time to experience tankery for themselves, they realized that they didn't want to see it or their ability to participate in it come to an end.

"That might be the goal of the person who's sponsoring them, or their headmaster," Miho said. "But as for the boys themselves, I can't say yet. It's entirely possible that they're fighting for different reasons from each other and the administration. I know most of us here don't have a problem with boys operating tanks."

"That's true, senpai," Sasaki Akebi, gunner for Duck Team, said. "Men and women have different physical abilities, so many sports are divided according to gender. But here, when you're using a tank, such divisions are less meaningful, compared to things like the quality of your equipment."

"I haven't been participating in tankery for long," Garai said. "But even if mainly girls have been doing it, I wonder if it's something some males would enjoy. Maybe that's why that school set up tankery. But I also believe that girls should not be excluded."

"In any case…" Miho said, "I'd like to meet the people who are challenging us. This looks to be an eye-opening experience."

* * *

The day of the competition arrived, and both the Oarai school ship and the Shirosame ship docked in Oarai. Upon stepping off their ship, Sasuke and the other Shirosame students were immediately struck by how familiar the town looked to their ship's port town. But they had no time for sightseeing, as they immediately headed to the tankery practice area, where Oarai had once fought St. Gloriana.

After reaching the staging area, the Oarai tankery team began setting up, doing last-minute checks of their tanks to make sure they were ready for the battle, and finalizing their plans.

As the preparations wrapped up with time to spare, Yukino walked over to Miho.

"Nishizumi-san?" Yukino said. "Some representatives of the Shirosame academy wanted to come over and see you- namely, their Student Council, the commander and his crew."

"I'm coming," Miho said, and the rest of her friends from Anglerfish Team followed her over.

"I apologize for the wait," Yukino said to her counterparts on the Shirosame student council. "I had to fetch my commander."

"No problem," Byakuya said.

"Akasaka-kun, may I introduce Nishizumi Miho-san, commander of the Oarai tankery team?" Yukino said, as she turned to Byakuya and indicated Miho.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Miho said, bowing.

"Same here, Nishizumi-chan," Byakuya said, returning the bow. "Akasaka Byakuya, president of the Shirosame student council. Here's my vice president Shirogane Kariya, and my public relations official, Kurono Karasu. I also have our commander, Nishizawa Sasuke."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nishizumi-san," Kariya said.

"We're definitely not going to lose to you, not after winning the tournament!" Karasu said.

"Please don't mind Kara-chan," Kariya said. "He's rather excitable, passionate about competitions and short tempered."

"What did I say about calling me Kara-chan!?" Karasu said.

Miho turned to Yukino and whispered in her ears. "It's like I'm talking with your predecessors again," she said.

"Nishizawa was curious about your school," Byakuya said. "Especially after hearing that our headmaster doesn't think much of girls doing tankery. So why don't you talk with him a little bit before the match?"

Anglerfish team met Shark Team, and they exchanged introductions.

"And this is Suou Garai-kun," Miho said, eventually getting to the male member of her team. "He's in our year, but he and the rest of the male students are new to the school. He's the first- and so far, only- boy to do tankery for Oarai."

"You mean it's otherwise entirely female?" Sasuke said. Miho nodded. "Even after the headmaster told me about it, I find it hard to believe."

"You could say the same goes for me about all boys takery programs," Miho said. "So, I suppose the most pressing question is… Have you really never heard of women doing tankery before then?"

"Not at all," Sasuke said. "And you, Nishizumi-san? Have you never heard about men doing tankery before we challenged you?" Miho shook her head.

"Men have served in tanks in the army, and, for that matter, so have women," Miho said. "But it's odd, really, I've never thought about it being exclusively for women until Suou-kun arrived. How about you, Nishizawa-kun?"

"Tankery has always been a male sport where I come from," Sasuke said. "And while recently, women have made inroads into the army, albeit with strong opposition to women serving in combat roles, there is not much female interest in tankery, nor much willingness to overturn the rules to allow them to do tankery. Tankery is seen as an inherently masculine pursuit, which naturally turns many women away from it, not to mention those who don't like it as a barbaric practice, compared to pursuits that are seen as more traditional and dignified."

Miho paused to consider Sasuke's words and he did likewise with her. Their homes' attitudes on tankery were similar in some ways, such as not appealing to certain members of the non-participating gender, or to many traditional people. But the question remained; why did Miho and Sasuke come from such different places, and why had neither heard of the other until now?

At that moment, Kaoru heard his cell phone ringing, which also interrupted Miho and Sasuke's thoughts. He checked the caller ID, which he recognized.

"Please excuse me," he said. "This is an important call I have been expecting." He picked up the phone, "Hello, this is Kaoru,"

"Young master, this is Shizuru," the voice on the other end, belonging to one of the family maids, said.

"Are you sure you still need to call me that, Shizuru?" Kaoru said.

"I am in the service of the Kotetsu family," Shizuru said. "You are the master's son, regardless of whether he has said anything to the contrary, and as such, I owe you my respect and obedience. You said it yourself, young master- the master would eventually see things your way and come to understand that you are his son in spite of the path you have chosen."

"I appreciate everything you have done, before, on and since that day, Shizuru," Kaoru said.

"The reason why I called to tell you is that the master and I have arrived, and we will be watching you today," Shizuru said. "This may be the chance you have been looking for."

"That is wonderful to hear," Kaoru said. "I will perform to the best of my ability."

"I wish you the best of luck, young master," Shizuru said.

"Thank you, Shizuru," Kaoru said. "I will speak with you after the match. Goodbye for now, Shizuru."

"Until then, young master," Shizuru said. Kaoru hung up.

"Did something happen, Kotetsu-kun?" Hana asked Kaoru as he placed the phone back in his pocket. "You seemed troubled for a moment."

"It's my father," Kaoru said. "He disapproves of my doing tankery, preferring that I continue our family's tradition of kendo."

"That's putting it mildly," Makoto said. "When your dad found out, he threw you out of the house and told you to never come home again."

Anglerfish team gasped in shock. Garai was doubly surprised, as he had never heard of a family disowning a member over a choice of an extracurricular activity.

"What you said is true, Makoto-kun, but there is some good news," Kaoru said. "Just now Shizuru, our family's maid, told me that Father was coming to this match, something he had never done before, even when we got to the finals of the tournament. I still hold out hope that he will come around."

Hana let out another gasp of surprise a few moments later as she recognized the similarity of their circumstances.

"Your father is still angry at you?" Hana said. She had, by now, reconciled with her mother, but she wondered, why had the same not happened with him, even though his circumstances were similar?

"What do you mean, when you say 'still', Isuzu-san?" Kaoru said.

"Ah, well, I mean that it is natural for parents to get upset over their children's decisions, and say or do things that they regret," Hana said. "But they have taken enough time to reflect on it, they should come around and take back everything they said while angry. The bonds you and your father share over the better part of two decades cannot be undone so easily."

"Ah, I see," Kaoru said. "Thank you for your kind words, Isuzu-san."

"I wish you the best of luck with your father, Kotetsu-kun," she said.

Rhino Team walked over to the assembled Anglerfish and Shark teams, with Patton leading Kennedy, Franklin and Lincoln to them.

"Commander, it's time to move out," Patton said.

"All right, I'll be over shortly," Sasuke said, before turning back to Miho. "It's been nice talking with you, Nishizumi-san; may the best team win."

"Same here, Nishizawa-kun," Miho said with a smile. With a wave, Sasuke walked off with Rhino Team.

Saori eyed the departing Rhino Team members

"It seems Shirosame has people like our Hippo Team, who cosplay as historical figures," she said. "But I noticed… all four of them are American historical figures."

"Well, I suppose that people from certain nations can be popular in others," Yukari said, "Sometimes even more than in their home country. Remember that Hippo Team had a member from the Roman Empire and another from Germany- they also made me an honorary member, as Guderian."

"In any case," Miho said, "the boys of Shirosame don't seem all that different from us. It's a bit hard to get my head around the fact that they're doing it for someone who doesn't like the fact that the other gender is in charge of tankery. Our student council isn't motivated by any such agenda, nor is the administration."

"Perhaps they are not aware of how they're helping him," Mako said. "You don't seem to be the sort to just do things for someone else's cause without asking questions, unless, perhaps, you didn't know that you were serving someone else's secret agenda."

"They also have their own reasons for fighting," Hana said. "Kotetsu-kun wanted to reconcile with his father just like how I wished for my mother to accept my doing tankery."

"That's true..." Miho said hesitantly. She had to wonder- would defeating the Shirosame boys crush their hopes along with the plans of those who had arranged the match?

As if on cue, Hana gave Miho a reassuring smile and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"But please do not worry, Miho-san," Hana said. "I will do my utmost to win, for the goals we share as a team, and for each of our individual ones. And perhaps winning will not deprive the Shirosame boys of that which they seek."

Miho cheered up and nodded.

"Let's do our best," she said.

* * *

As Sasuke walked with his team, his mind wandered back to what they had discussed earlier, as well as the information from what he was told was a "reliable source," about Oarai's tank lineup, which was startlingly similar to Shirosame's.

"An entire school, similar to ours, only this time, it's mainly girls who are taking tankery," Sasuke mused to himself. "But why is it so similar to ours? And where did the differences come from?"

"Sasuke-kun, surely you noticed?" Kaoru said. "Isuzu-san had an odd reaction when I mentioned my family troubles, almost as though she knew what I was talking about. It is possible she has been through something of the sort in the past, but I decided not to ask."

"But why do they have a boy on their team?" Makoto said. "The headmaster surely wouldn't allow any girls in our team, and neither would Sasuke's dad."

"Don't tell me you're jealous of Suou-kun, having all those girls around and so little competition," Kouta said.

"Nah, I actually don't know what I'd do in that situation, with so many choices," Makoto said. "That said, it might be nice to see some female faces around our school and its tankery team, and I'm sure the first-years of Bull Team would agree."

"I certainly don't see why it's so wrong that women are doing tankery," Sasuke said. "But even so, we can't lose. We have our own reasons for wanting to win, as do they, and perhaps by giving it their all, they'll show the headmaster just how well women can fight in tanks."

* * *

As the two teams came together for the pre-game assembly, Miho glanced around and noticed that her enemy's tanks were exactly the same as those from her team, down to the various upgrades on them.

Ami walked over in her dress uniform, as the representative for the referees of the match, and stood between the two teams.

"I'm Chouno Ami, the referee for this match," Ami said. "This battle will be a total annihilation one, and will end once all of one side's tanks are defeated."

"Um, Instructor?" Miho said, raising her hand. "May I ask why it's total annihilation this time?"

"This is essentially an exhibition game, so it's not bound by all the tournament rules," Ami said. "We decided to keep things as simple as possible, where feasible, to ensure that it wouldn't be too much of an adjustment for you, or the Shirosame boys."

Garai furrowed his brow in Ami's reference to the "boys" of his school, to him a clear if unconscious indication of which gender's participation she regarded as "normal" for tankery.

"Ah, I understand," Miho said.

"But one thing that is universal among sporting events, whether men or women, whether in tankery or anything else, is a mutual commitment to fair play and respect for those who play alongside and against you," Ami said. "Now, both sides, Bow!"

Both sides exchanged bows, and then headed off toward their tanks.

Miho and Sasuke's perceptions about tankery had been shaken from the moment they had heard about each other's schools doing something that they had not thought about, much less seriously considered doing, before then. But now that they were in their tanks, they set out to do what came naturaly to them- to fight and claim victory in their own ways.

* * *

**Omake**

"Thanks for coming, Isobe-chan," Anzu said at the start of the previous academic year, after having summoned "the volleyball team" to the office. "But I honestly wasn't expecting you to bring other people."

"Neither was I, President," Noriko said with a smile on her face. "Meet Sasaki Akebi-san, Kawanishi Shinobu-san and Kondou Taeko-san, three first-years and new members of the volleyball team."

"The Captain told us that it wasn't likely that we would be able to enter, much less win, any tournaments," Akebi said. "But Kondou-san, Kawanishi-san and I are all right with that; we're just looking for those who like to play volleyball together."

An uncomfortable silence ensued as the Student Council exchanged glances, and a confused look replaced the smile on Noriko's face.

"Yeah, well, about that..." Anzu said. "Sorry, but we're cutting the volleyball club. Not enough people are interested and funds are tight this year."

"What!?" Noriko said, shocked. "Funds are tight? Didn't I hear that you're starting up tankery again? I'm sure you don't even know how many will join it. What gives you the right to cut funding for an existing club with minimal operating costs to start up an untried new one without great popular demand?"

"Well, we..." Yuzu began, but as Anzu glanced at her, she stopped short.

"How about a deal, Isobe-chan?" Anzu said. "We need some volunteers for the tankery club. If you help us win the tournament, then we can consider the status of the volleyball club next year."

"You're a third-year, right, President?" Noriko said. Anzu merely nodded. "I do have to wonder whether you'll keep that promise."

"We can't say for sure until the end of the year, can we?" Anzu said.

"So, Isobe?" Momo said. "Are you in... or out?"

Noriko turned to her teammates, who nodded in unison.

"We're in, President," Noriko said. "I can't say I'm happy with how things turned out, but it's the only chance we have, and it's better than nothing."

"My thoughts exactly," Anzu said, noting how appropriate Noriko's word choice was, in more ways than one.

* * *

**Author's notes**

This chapter shared some of my theories as to why tankery is single-gender, and some of its evolution over time as women's role in society has changed.

Miho may not be the most confident individual, but I've noticed she does best when she's talking about something important to her, rather than saying things to motivate people. Two of the few times she gives a good speech- the speech in Episode 8 when she tries to convince everyone to surrender by saying that she started to like tankery and wants to preserve those fond memories, as well as the "Whatever happens, Oarai is my alma mater" speech in Episode 10- are times when she spoke clearly and eloquently, and they were when she spoke from the heart.

Many Gary Stu characters I've seen display incredible arrogance. That, combined with their tendency to have controversial opinions like their authors sometimes do, often would translate into sexism for a fandom like this.

On a minor note, while Oarai has moved on to a new school year, for Shirosame, it's the same academic year as when they won their first tournament. As such:

1)The Shirosame Student Council are third years while the Oarai student council has graduated

2)Sasuke is a second year while Miho is a third year.

3)Bull Team are first years while Rabbit Team are second years.

4)There are a few new freshmen in Oarai, whose counterparts in Shirosame would be in middle school.

5)None of the new arrivals (e.g. Garai of Anglerfish Team, Iruka of Anteater Team) have counterparts in Shirosame.

**Ending Theme Team**: Armadillo Team, Bull Team


	5. The First Battle

**Chapter 5: The First Battle**

Oarai and Shirosame's tanks moved toward their respective start locations, waiting for the signal to begin the match. Both sides were situated at the east and west ends of a hilly area, with an abandoned town some distance to the south. With both teams having the same number and type of tanks, as well as a similar level of experience, whoever first gained and held onto the upper hand would emerge triumphant in this battle.

* * *

In the stands, a man and a woman sat, their traditional Japanese clothing causing them to stand out from the others. The woman wore a yellow kimono with a white obi and a blue flower pattern on it. The man wore a hakama.

"So, this is it," the man, Kotetsu Kojiro, head of the Kotetsu kendo school and Kaoru's father, said. "This is what Kaoru chose to abandon his training in the way of the sword to pursue." He then turned to the woman, who, when in his presence, spoke only when spoken to. "You told me that he was serious about this, Shizuru- serious enough to oppose me even when I threatened him with disinheritance and carried out the threat."

"Indeed, master," Shizuru said.

Kojiro nodded. "I heard that he had succeeded on a national level, over opponents who had years of experience, though I found it hard to tell how much he himself contributed," Kojiro said. "Now I will watch this and see whether he wasted his effort on something frivolous, or whether his dedication is true and fruitful."

Shizuru quietly pondered everything that had happened between her master and his son since the day Kojiro had told Kaoru to leave his house and never return. The idea of Kojiro even coming to a tankery match had seemed impossible to her back then, but Kaoru had believed that it was not only possible, but would lead to him understanding and approving of what Kaoru had done.

"_This is what you have always wanted, young master,"_ Shizuru thought. _"You said back then that if the master decided to come to one of your tankery matches, it would be proof of him opening his mind, and an opportunity for you to show your tankery skill to him. Having heard of your victories in the past, I believe winning should not be difficult. I wish you the best of luck convincing the master that this is where your passion lies."_

Yuri and Shinzaburou took their seats near Kojirou and Shizuru, as well as Yuu, Kazuki's crotchety grandfather, who did not care to speak to anyone else. Having lost his wife years ago, and his daughter and son-in-law when Kazuki was a young boy, he had grown bitter and resentful toward others. He attended this match only because his presence had been requested by the STU Council, who had paid his way to come, and because he had nothing better to do.

"Is this seat taken?" Reizei Hisako said as she approached Yuri, pointing to an empty spot on Yuri's right.

"No, madam, please feel free to sit down there," Yuri said.

"Thank you," Hisako said, as she took a seat. "I'm Reizei Hisako- my granddaughter, Reizei Mako, is on the tankery team. And you are?"

"Isuzu Yuri," Yuri said. "And this is Shinzaburou, a household servant. My daughter, Isuzu Hana-san, is the gunner on the Panzer IV, I believe." Despite no longer hating tankery as a barbaric sport, Yuri still knew relatively little about it.

"Ah, I met your daughter once," Hisako said. "I think she was the one who was tall with long, dark hair that is a bit like my granddaughter's."

"Yes," Yuri said. "And I believe that Hana-san mentioned a Reizei-san to me once. I'm glad to see she's making friends through tankery, given that she once said others found her unapproachable due to her formality making her seem uptight."

"The same goes for Mako," Hisako said. "I was indifferent about tankery earlier, practically being older than the sport itself, but it's nice to see Mako has something that she's willing to try hard in. I only wish it could do something for her manners- not that a grumpy old lady like me has any room to talk- but I guess you can't hope for everything."

"Perhaps Hana-san could give your granddaughter some lessons on manners," Yuri said, "She is quite possibly the finest and best mannered young lady I have ever known. But I think you give yourself too little credit, Reizei-san; you are a kind person and you care deeply for your granddaughter."

Hisako quietly smiled as Yuri complimented her, but noticed that Yuri's tone had gradually grown wistful as if she were thinking of the past and her own mistakes. There would be time to ask her that later, though.

* * *

Nishizawa Sosuke and Nishizawa Taisuke, Sasuke's father and older brother, sat in the stands near Nishizumi Shiho and Nishziumi Maho- Miho's mother and older sister.

"Your brother had best succeed in this match, Sosuke," Taisuke said. "If he does not, he will be disowned."

"With due respect, Father," Sosuke said, "Sasuke defeated me in the finals of the last tournament, did he not?"

"The Nishizawa school of tankery values victory above all else," Taisuke said. "As such, results speak loudest of all. Your brother merely succeeded me in convincing me, for the moment, that there was still merit to keeping him in this family. This match today has greater stakes for the Nishizawa school than any previous match he has been in, even in the high school tournament finals; the STU Council see it as a critical test case given Shirosame's similarity to Oarai, to say the least. He carries the fate of our style of tankery, as well as our family honor and reputation, in this match, and failure will not be tolerated."

"Yes, Father," Sosuke said.

"If the Nishizumi brat and her troops win against one of us, even if it's merely Sasuke, her family will be emboldened, and think of themselves as superior to us, even though their name means nothing compared to ours," Taisuke said. "As such, this match carries more weight for our family name than a tournament, in which winning, for a Nishizawa, should be a matter of course."

Sosuke remained silent, clearly realizing that his father was referring to both Sosuke's defeat in the last tournament, and Sasuke's actions in the one before it. Taisuke had not fully forgiven Sasuke for what he had done, and was giving him one last chance to prove himself.

Maho overheard the conversation, having difficulty understanding its meaning. How was this, a seemingly simple exhibition match between two opposing schools, albeit an unprecedented one for both given the gender of their opponents, a far more higher-stakes match than even a tournament final?

Shiho's mind was largely on other things as she heard what Taisuke was saying. As a result of Miho's victory over Black Forest, including defeating her favored child and heiress Maho in a one-on-one showdown, Shiho had indefinitely postponed any consideration of disowning Miho, albeit while not permanently discarding that idea as a possibility for if Miho did anything to dishonor the Nishizumi name. Miho's tactics were not the traditional ones of the Nishizumi school, but what did it mean if she was able to consistently win with them? Shiho had not fully considered this question until recently, and as such, she found it more difficult to answer than she had expected.

But above all else, she did not want her daughter to lose to this upstart, who acted as though he were a visiting king and expected respect for accomplishments that Shiho had heard nothing about. She concluded that doing at least that much was well within Miho's abilities.

* * *

Inside the Char B1Bis, Yukari sat in the command seat, with Gomoyo in the driver's seat, and Pazomi in the gunner seat for the secondary armament.

"So I'm going into my second battle as commander," Yukari said. "It's such a big responsibility- even bigger still for Nishizumi-dono- but it's exciting, too."

"You've helped us get a lot better, Akiyama-san," Gomoyo said. "We came in at the battle with Pravda, and felt as though we lagged behind the others for the most part."

"Oarai was the underdog from the beginning," Yukari said. "It's been quite a ride, as we've dealt with more powerful tanks and more experienced crews. But now that Shirosame's more at our level- or perhaps, that they've overcome odds as steep as we did- I wonder how we'll do."

* * *

The starting signal was sent out, and Oarai's teams advanced, keeping an eye out for the enemy. They knew their starting position was wide open, making it ill-suited to being on the defensive, and so decided to seek out the enemy.

"It looks like the hills are closer to the enemy side than they are to ours," Miho said over the radio. "Be careful for any ambushes."

As the group approached the hill, Miho noticed some tread marks in the soil, and immediately recognized that it was the enemy Porsche Tiger, which had barely managed to climb the hill.

"Be on your guard," Miho said. "If we charge right in, the enemy could very well come out firing."

Immediately after Miho said that, the enemy Chi-nu haphazardly lurched forward, sliding down the hill and out of the concealment of cover. It aimed at Anglerfish Team, and tried to fire, shooting a shell that would not have penetrated the Panzer's frontal armor at that distance, if it had even made it that far.

"Do something, Sarutobi!" Inuzuri, the commander said, still having trouble with the idea of having multiple people crewing a tank.

"I'm trying, Inuzuri," Sarutobi, the driver, said, having inadvertently shifted the tank forward, as he desperately tried to stop it. "But this thing just isn't stopping."

"I'm loading as fast as I can," Kiji, the loader and gunner, said, trying to get another shell loaded into the gun. "In a video game, I didn't think you'd have to do that, much less manually."

Kiji finally got the shell into the gun just as the other Chi-nu fired at close range, taking it out.

"Game over, press start to continue," Iruka said, and then turned to the others. "Wow, this is more exciting than taking another player out in an online match!" Iruka had, even before coming to Oarai, practiced with the tank enough to be able to shoot with reasonable accuracy, but had never seen an actual match against a rival school.

"I can't help but think our enemy let us have that one," Momogawa said. "Maybe they, too, jumped in without reading the manual?"

"Good shot, Anteater team," Miho said over the radio. "It seems as though the enemy is setting a trap for us on that hill. Split up and flank them."

The other tanks quickly moved to comply with Miho's order, splitting left or right based on their position.

* * *

"Wh-what just happened, Chameleon Team?" Sasuke said as he sat in his Panzer IV.

"We're sorry," Inuzuri said. "All of a sudden, the tank rolled forward and slid downhill. We tried to take them out but got taken down. I think 1 on 8 is too much in real life."

"You think?" Kazuki said sarcastically. Not having played video games like Inuzuri and the rest of his team did, he was unfamiliar with how many games there were in which a battle where one opponent fought eight was often an uphill battle at best- for the numerically superior computer controlled enemies.

"This strategy worked against King Henry Academy in our practice game, enabling us to defeat them without any losses," Sasuke said. "But it seems it's no longer viable. Quickly, get out of here!"

The tanks quickly retreated down the opposite side of the hill, avoiding the Oarai crews' line of fire. However, they soon noticed that one was not following- the M3 Lee, crewed by Bull Team, a sextet of tankery students who joined the club in their first year at the school.

"Senpais, we'll cover your escape!" Sasaki Akito, commander of the team, said.

"No, get out of here!" Sasuke said. "We can't fight them at this location!"

"We took out two of Rhineland's best tanks," Kosugi Yujiro, driver of the tank said. "There's no way in hell I'm running away from a bunch of nobodies!"

Hattori Kyoutaro, the loader of the team, silently did his job and loaded a shell.

"Take this!" Miura Kichirou and Yoshida Hideaki, the gunners, said.

The two rounds, hastily aimed with the gunners changing their minds midway through the process on which tanks they wanted to shoot, flew far from their mark. Soon afterward, the tank was rocked by multiple blasts on the side, coming from Anglerfish, Leopon and Mallard Teams, and its white flag raised in surrender.

"Bull team, down," Yamahisa Jin, radio operator, said.

Midway through the retreat, the tank team noticed Jaguar Team's Porsche Tiger slowing down, and screeching to a halt.

"Take it out!" Miho said.

Garai slid a shell into position and Hana fired, striking the Porsche Tiger in the rear. The rest of the tanks followed suit, causing a series of explosions and a large cloud of smoke to rise from Jaguar team's tank. When the smoke cleared, it revealed that something else also had rose- the white flag indicating the tank was disabled.

"That's three down," Garai said.

"Miho-san, there is something I do not understand," Hana said. "Everyone here seems to be imitating us, and yet I have noticed that they have not used any clever strategies like the ones you use."

"It could be that we're falling into one," Miho said. "The three we've taken out so far were the less lucky, careful and skilled of the crews. The real battle may begin when we catch up to them in the town.

The surviving five Shirosame tanks pulled ahead of the Oarai tanks, which had been slightly delayed by firing on the disabled Jaguar Team, and made their way into town.

"Split up and get into ambush positions!" Sasuke said. "Whittle down the Oarai forces and then take out the remaining ones."

* * *

As the Oarai crews rolled down the main street of the town and began to split up to search for the Shirosame tanks, Armadillo Team's Hetzer fired its gun, accidentally striking the M3 Lee in the side, disabling it.

"Nice shot, Kara, but weren't you aiming for the Panzer IV?" Kariya said.

"Don't call me Kara! A hit's a hit!" Karasu said.

"Hey, Kurono," Byakuya said, pointing forward as he reclined in his seat. "You might want to take a look forward."

Karasu gasped in shock as he realized that several of the Oarai tanks were pointing at him.

"Retreat!" Kariya yelled and tried to slide his tank into reverse. Unfortunately, he could not outrun the Panzer IV's shell, nor could Kariya load or fire quickly enough to get another hit off.

"They got us," Byakuya said cheerfully.

"Still, I'm betting the president could have nailed Nishizumi-san's Panzer if he'd bothered to man the gun," Kariya said. "We've never been pushed into a corner enough for him to take that step, though."

Byakuya gave no reply except for a knowing grin.

* * *

The former Oarai student council was among those who had turned out to watch the game, and watched this current development.

"It seems the enemy has a gunner just like Momo-chan," Yuzu said.

"Don't call me Momo-chan!" Momo said, but then sighed resignedly. "But I do have to admit that our accuracy definitely skyrocketed once the pres- Anzu took over the gun."

It had taken the former student council a while to adjust to their no longer being part of the Oarai student government, which was how they had met and bonded. Anzu proposed that they go from using titles to using first names on each other, and Momo agreed, on the condition that "-chan" never go after her name.

"Yeah, I think that part of how we got better was getting the right people in the right positions," Anzu said. "You're not great at being a gunner, Momo, but as a result of having to multitask between that and loading, you got fairly good at loading."

"It was especially true for Anglerfish team, all of whom switched roles around the time Reizei-san joined," Yuzu said. "We couldn't ask for a better commander than Nishizumi-san, and once she got over her initial reluctance, I think she actually enjoyed it, too."

"But I have to wonder," Momo said. "If the enemy is so similar to us, why are we doing so much better than they are? Surely they had to deal with tanks that could resist virtually all of their attacks while being able to knock them out with hardly any effort."

"Maybe it's because they got off to a bad start, which may be difficult to recover from unless they get lucky," Yuzu said. "But one has to wonder why they began at a disadvantage."

"I have a theory- maybe it's because we had more challenging rivals than Shirosame did," Anzu said. "If St. Gloriana didn't beat us, we wouldn't have had the drive to become stronger. And while Black Forest would have taken us out if we'd faced them first, facing Saunders and Pravda helped us prepare."

"It might be nice if we faced some of Shirosame's former opponents to test that theory," Yuzu said. "But I suspect the results would be the same."

* * *

Elsewhere, the current student council sat in their now disabled tank. They had succeeded in disabling the enemy Char B1Bis, commanded by Hawk Team, crewed by Baro "Bataisu" Taisuke, head of the Shirosame Disciplinary committee, and his almost identical underlings, Homura "Murakio" Kintaro and Kasuga Tsubasa- they were known as "Baitasu", "Murakio" and "Kasuba" to Kazuki and many of the other students who found their zealous enforcement of the rules annoying.

Unfortunately in the process, Turtle Team had been taken out by Shark Team's Panzer IV while they were reloading, in spite of Shizune's desperate attempt to escape. After radioing in their being taken out, as well as their having disabled Hawk Team, the only thing left for them was to wait to be taken off the battlefield.

"This is proving more difficult than I had thought…" Yukino said dejectedly.

"Well, our senpais did get taken out in most of their battles," Haruka said. "And we're probably behind most of the enemy team- except those jokers in the other Chi-nu- in terms of experience."

"Still, we can't be content with performing at this level- I don't think any of the others were," Yukino said. "If we're going to help out Nishizumi-san, we've got to be able to do it effectively no matter our role, no matter our situation. We might have chosen to run for Student Council because no one else was willing, but now that we're here, we resolved to prove that we're the best suited for the job."

"Good to hear, Yukino," Shizune said. "Let's do our best in our training and coming battles."

As the Dragon Wagon loaded the disabled tanks of the Hawk and Turtle teams, the girls of the student council vowed that in the next battle, they would drive off the field, along with the other surviving and victorious Oarai tanks, and they would work as hard as possible and as hard as necessary to make that a reality.

* * *

The student council's mood, however, was far more optimistic than that of the remaining Shirosame tanks- the Falcon Team's M3 Lee, the Rhino Team's StuG III and the Shark Team's Panzer IV.

The boys of the Falcon Team, composed of members of Shirosame's disbanded mahjong club, wondered what use they could possibly be to their teammates in such a situation. Their tank, the Type 89, was by far the least useful of the tanks Shirosame had; most schools that Shirosame had faced could field the full complement of 10 to 20 tanks for an official match without having to resort to a tank of that nature. As a result, they had always been forced to run away or make futile attempts at attacking, hoping their comrades would take out their attackers while their attention was diverted elsewhere.

"Six against three…" Matano Shinobu, commander of the tank, remarked. "Being outnumbered three to one is pretty standard for a mahjong game, but in those cases, the enemies typically aren't on the same side as each other, so a two to one ratio is worse odds here."

"Yeah, but, we've got everyone else in our team, right?" Hirose Kazuya, gunner, said.

Shinobu M. pondered what Kazuya had told him for a moment before shaking his head; he wanted to believe him, but realized that reality did not quite work that way. In their matches in the club, they had been playing against, rather than alongside, each other. The matches were friendly, and for the purpose of improving each other's skills, but there was no element of cooperation involved. The four boys had attended an individual tournament in their first year- lacking the members to try for the team tournament- but had been eliminated before long. Each of them had played at least one of their teammates during the tournament, and while they had justified their competition on the grounds that they'd be happy if the strongest of them advanced, they were ultimately unable to do anything for each other.

As the Oarai Type 89 pursued them, they hoped to overcome those odds, to win a comeback victory. The winner in that mahjong tournament had come from a school none of them had ever heard of, and they concluded from his victory that it was possible for underdogs to triumph, even if the four of them were not necessarily the underdogs who would.

"Keep on them, Shinobu!" Noriko said to Kawanishi Shinobu, unaware of the namesake in their counterpart's tank.

"Affirmative, Captain!" Shinobu K. said, as the Type 89's crew prepared to fire on its counterpart again.

"So I think that makes us in… riichi, or something?" Shibuya Itsuki, the driver of Falcon Team said, after a shell from Falcon Team's Type 89 narrowly missed Duck Team's Type 89.

"I don't think there's a mahjong term for this situation, Itsuki- just keep driving!"

A few dozen meters from the spot where they had hoped to reach, Falcon Team's baiting ended as a well-placed shot from Duck Team struck their tank in the back, and the white flag went up.

"No-ten…" Itsuki said, using the only mahjong term he could think of to express his disappointment.

Falcon Team's commander heard Oarai's Type 89 rush by him, in the direction he had intended to lure them, and he smiled.

"No, perhaps that's a Ron," Shinobu M. said.

* * *

Shortly before Falcon Team's defeat, the StuG III of Rhino Team, finding an alley, backed into it to set an ambush for the Oarai tanks.

"We have reached the grassy knoll," Kennedy, the driver, said, as his tank backed into position. "I mean, the ambush point."

"Falcon team is down!" Oohoshi Minoru, radio operator for Falcon Team, said over the radio.

"They're still coming our way, right?" Kennedy said.

"Yes," Minoru said.

Kennedy then turned to the rest of the team.

"Get ready, everyone," he said.

"Hit it," Patton, the commander and loader, said, as he activated a remote controlled garage door opener. The garage door, ahead and to the right of Duck Team's Type 89 slowly opened. As Duck Team approached, they turned to the side to look.

"No, it's a decoy!" Noriko shouted. "Quick, return the ser-"

The enemy StuG III fired, and struck the Type 89 in its side. The white flag raised and the Type 89 was out of the game. Five Oarai tanks remained.

"You never win a war by dying for your own country," Patton said. "You win it by making the other dumb bitches die for theirs."

"Passion governeth, but it doth not govern wisely," Ben Franklin said. "Stay calm and thou shalt defeat thine enemy."

After Rhino Team's StUG made its shot, it heard the sound of another vehicle approaching from behind. Hippo team, cautious to avoid getting cornered, quickly fired a shot through the fence, which smashed through, sailed through the air and struck the enemy StuG III in the back, disabling it.

"I hath been thunderstruck!" Ben Franklin said.

"Sic semper tyrannis," Lincoln said.

The commander of the StuG III then stuck his head out of the top, as Erwin spared him a backward glance while fleeing.

"Rommel, you magnificent bastard!" he yelled at the fleeing enemy StuG III.

"Ask not what our team can do for us, but what they can do for them," Kennedy said. "Wait, I don't think that's how it went."

"But we hath done all we can," Ben Franklin said. "This contest doth rest in their hands now.

"Still..." Kennedy said, "I can't help but feel as though this will be our Bay of Pigs..."

* * *

"This is Duck Team," Noriko said over the radio to Miho. "We've been taken out."

"Is everyone ok?" Miho said.

"Yes, we're fine," Noriko said, "And we got the enemy Type 89 before we went down." A shot rang out and Noriko glanced over to where it had come from. "It looks like Turtle Team got the other StuG III."

"That's good to hear," Miho said. "All tanks, there is only one enemy left now."

Miho advanced forward, and found the enemy Panzer IV in position. The tank quickly started up and darted around a corner, with Miho's tank in hot pursuit.

"I think I know where they're headed," Miho said. "Mallard team, get ready!"

"At once, Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said.

As Shark Team's Panzer IV sped away, Anglerfish Team desperately tried to get a shot off on it, only for it to quickly weave around a corner. Its driver was skilled, if not capable of some of Mako's more extreme feats with the tank.

"Doesn't he get it?" Mako said, as she took a tight turn around the corner in pursuit of the enemy. "There's no way they can take the rest of us by themselves; I don't even think they have enough shells."

"They can't run forever," Miho said. "Just a little bit further…"

Anglerfish Team's pursuit over the last few minutes had aimed to slowly guide Shark Team to where the other tanks could corner and destroy it. With many of the paths leading to cramped alleyways, and with tanks closing in at each intersection, Shark team was forced to make hasty decisions about where to escape, decisions that often benefited Anglerfish team as they went right where Oarai wanted them.

Mallard Team, lying in wait, fired off a shell that struck the Panzer IV in the side at almost point-blank range. The tank shuddered under the force of the blast, screeched to a halt and a white flag popped up out of its turret.

"All tanks from Shirosame Boys' Academy have been disabled," the announcer said. "The winner is Oarai Girls' Academy."

* * *

**Omake**

Anzu looked at Miho's registration form, and the ever-present smile faded from her face as she saw the circle in a box other than tankery- it was incense, but Anzu soon forgot which one it was. She knew that the school's best hope of a good tankery commander had not done what she had hoped she would do. She also knew it was one of those times in which she couldn't sit back and let Yuzu handle everything, and she had to take matters into her own hands.

"Kawashima, put out a call on the PA system to summon Nishizumi-chan here," Anzu said. "We're going to have to get her to reconsider her choice of elective."

"President, Nishizumi-san said she came here specifically to avoid tankery," Yuzu said. "She didn't tell us the reason, and I'm not sure she told Takebe-san or Isuzu-san, but shouldn't we respect her wishes here?"

"You know as well as I do, Yuzu," Momo said. "If Nishizumi doesn't help us out here with her tankery expertise, she won't be coming here next year, regardless of how badly or why she wants to avoid tankery."

"You say that as though our chances won't be slim if Nishizumi-chan decides to join us, Kawashima," Anzu said. "But a slim hope is better than none, and having her on our side is an advantage. So, Koyama, ask yourself- is it fair to jeopardize our efforts to keeping the school open, something we're doing for all of Oarai, so that _one student_ can stay out of tankery?"

"No, President," Yuzu said, "but Nishizumi-san doesn't know what's at stake. Maybe we should tell her?"

"I'd rather not unless absolutely necessary," Anzu said. "It would be best if she weren't burdened with the knowledge of having the entire school's fate on her shoulders."

_"And what you're doing now **isn't** placing undue pressure on Nishizumi-san?"_ Yuzu thought as Momo called Miho in, but decided to rest her case. She wanted to keep the school open as badly as Anzu and Momo did, and as such, she understood how they felt. They were dead-set on getting Miho onto the team, and as they could not be convinced, might it be possible to convince Miho?

The situation was resolved and Miho joined the team without Anzu having to reveal the true reasons. But Anzu knew that there was a great deal of work ahead for Miho, for the tankery team, and even herself, to win the tournament and secure their school's future.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

I've noticed that in a great deal of fan fiction, the new arrivals, whether heroes or villains, prove their strength by defeating the strongest, or one of the strongest, characters in the setting, or doing something that the main cast couldn't hope to match up to. For example, in one Naruto fic that's been deleted, Orochimaru, the first main antagonist, defeats all of Team 7 combined (which, at least in Part 1, is a reasonable outcome), then gets effortlessly defeated by Ronan, the new main character, who is a complete and utter God Mode Sue. The STU was hoping to achieve a similar thing against Oarai, but, as you can see, it didn't work out. It's also relatively common in original fiction to have the first enemy of a sequel be stronger than the main antagonist of the previous one, but I decided not to follow suit here, instead having Oarai face a relatively less threatening one.

After seeing Oarai win despite being outnumbered and outgunned, it can be surprising to see how they will do against an opponent with the same number and quality of tanks. As for how Shirosame could defeat its opponents despite being much worse off than Oarai, they did, in fact, succeed, but their opponents were that much less competent than Oarai or its opponents.

I hope the battle turned out well enough, and wasn't too easy for Oarai's first opponent (as the student Council pointed out, Oarai took the advantage early on and held onto it. I tend to be less good at the technical details of how tanks perform than some other writers in this fandom, so I also hope nothing too unreasonable happened here.

Taisuke's attitude is, apart from being a counterpart of Shiho, a reflection of fan speculation about where Miho stands in the family, after being slated for disinheritance (or threatened with disinheritance in the manga) around the time of the Pravda match. As for Shiho, I suspect that having seen Miho defeat Maho, thereby succeeding not only on her own terms, but also those of the Nishizumi school, a seed of doubt has been planted in Shiho. Where that leads is another matter, which will be explored later on, but her sighing and clapping seems to be proof that she can no longer write off Miho's victories as flukes like she did after Miho defeated Pravda.

Falcon Team's use of mahjong terms to describe their current status in battle was a parody of Duck Team's volleyball terms, and how they didn't always fit. It's also, as I said, to represent a team of people who play alone, as opposed to a team of people used to working as a team, to indicate that a large part of Oarai's success is due to its teamwork.

The omake was based on a shorter form of a fic I had planned about the student council's perspective on the events of Episode 1. Essentially my interpretation is that Yuzu's uncomfortable silence is the result of her not liking putting pressure on Miho, but knowing that the school's existence is on the line and Anzu won't budge (she briefly vocalizes an objection before she's fully shown).

You may notice some theme naming in some of the Shirosame boys and other OCs, as well as some individual references and hidden meanings behind the name choices. Can you spot some of the references? As a hint, some teams are named after characters from the same work, typically either their first or last names. For example, I named the new student council after some student council members in fiction. **Shizune Hakamichi** of Katawa Shoujo, Hisa **Takei **of Saki(who's president of the student council as well as the mahjong club), and Reito **Kanzaki**, **Haruka **Suzushiro and **Yukino **Kikukawa of Mai-Hime**.**

Regarding my updates- as with my other fics, I have a first draft of the entire fic written out in advance- it's over 100,000 words long at this point- and typically release updates 5-7 days apart (barring unforeseen circumstances) to allow for time for feedback, and to revise some of the upcoming chapters.

**Ending Theme Team**: Chameleon Team, Jaguar Team


	6. Merely the Beginning

**Chapter 6**: **Merely the Beginning  
**

The announcement of Oarai's victory came over the loudspeakers, reaching all the students in their tanks on the field, those waiting off the field, and the spectators in the stand. Cheers erupted from Oarai's team players and supporters, while groans of dismay came from their Shirosame counterparts.

"Only three of our tanks got taken out, and they don't seem too badly damaged," Tsuchiya said inside the Porsche Tiger, giving off a slightly amused sigh. "I would have preferred something challenging, like repairing all eight after the battle with Black Forest. That is half of the reason why we're here."

"Is what I heard true, senpai?" Ichiko, one of the three new members and the new loader, said. "Did your team really repair the Porsche Tiger while it was _in motion_ during the battle with Black Forest?"

"We kind of had to, considering how prone the thing is to engine trouble and that Black Forest wouldn't give us a chance to stop while they were in pursuit," Tsuchiya said. "And that wasn't even the craziest thing we had to do; for us, at least, that was blocking the way to where our commander was facing off with her sister, the enemy commander with the disabled body of our tank."

"That's so cool, senpai!" Fuyumi, the second of the new members and the new driver, said, as Miyuki, the third new member and the new gunner, smiled.

"Let's get good enough so that we can do cool stuff like that," Miyuki said.

For Tsuchiya, this year was an adjustment. She, once the sole second-year in a team otherwise comprised entirely of third-years, now had to lead three new first-years. She was going from driving to commanding, from taking orders to giving them, and from asking questions of her senpais to answering questions from her kohais. But the first-years were rising to the occasion well, much like Oarai had in the last tournament.

"_Things won't always be this easy,"_ Tsuchiya thought, _"but now that I've been in a battle that we won, sitting in the commander's chair isn't as intimidating as I first thought. Don't you agree, Nishizumi-san?"_

* * *

Inside the Chi-nu, the Anteater team celebrated their victory, including their survival.

"Way to go everyone- good game!" Momogawa said.

"It seems we managed to survive the round this time," Nekota said.

"Perhaps it's because we're facing an enemy that seems more like the first boss, rather than the final boss," Iruka said. "I wasn't there for the finals, but this team doesn't seem as intimidating as Black Forest was."

"Or because we- both our Anteater team and Oarai as a whole- are getting better," Nekota said. "The others weren't always this good, and they got taken out pretty easily in our early matches, from what I heard."

"Or because I actually knew which way was forward this time," Momogawa said.

* * *

Shizuru and Kojiro watched as the match concluded.

"The young master lost…" Shizuru said somberly, realizing that Kaoru's hopes of impressing his father and by doing so, changing his mind, had most likely been crushed.

"Perhaps with this crushing defeat, he will realize that he was never meant to do this, and prostrate himself before me, apologizing for his disobedience and begging to be let back into my family," Kojiro said. "I was like this once at his age, but, luckily for me, I was able to rid myself of that foolishness of youth before things came to this with my father."

"If I may speak my mind, master?" Shizuru said. Kojiro nodded. "Having entered into your service when the young master was but a boy, I have never seen him attempt to oppose you on anything. And yet, when he was faced with dire consequences for his decision, he never backed down. I find it unlikely that this defeat will break his spirit when being cast out of the family did not."

"Is that so…?" Kojiro said. "If only he had put such resolve into his training, and focused his commitment on mastering the sword. But perhaps there may be other paths to becoming a good man than through practicing kendo, and perhaps he may walk away from tankery somehow not just a better man, but a better swordsman."

Shizuru gave a hopeful smile.

"We're leaving, Shizuru," Kojiro said, standing up. "Tell Kaoru I wish to see whether he will continue down this path, and what comes of it. After he comes to a decision, I may reconsider his status in the family."

"Yes, master," Shizuru said, standing up and following Kojiro out of the stadium. _"Perhaps you could not succeed as fully as you wished, young master,"_ she thought. _"But I think you may yet be correct about the master."_

* * *

"MISS, YOU'RE NUMBER ONE!" Shinzaburou cheered after witnessing Hana's team's victory.

"Well done, Hana-san…" Yuri murmured.

"Mistress, your daughter has won," Shinzaburou said. "You should at least be happy for her."

"I am," Yuri said sadly. "It is simply painful to see another parent making the same mistakes I did, and another child suffering the consequences."

When Yuri had heard the news that Hana was doing tankery- from someone besides Hana herself, no less- she was overcome with shock. Hana was a polite, dutiful and above all else obedient girl who had devoted herself to her family's study of flower arranging. So why was she now expressing discontent with what she was doing? Why did she go into the field the Isuzu family considered taboo? And why did she keep both a secret from her own mother? Yuri had trouble coming to grips with those answers, as well as Hana's refusal to reconsider her decision, and in the middle of her anger, told Hana never to come back, assuming that it would force her to change her mind. But it was Yuri herself whose mind had changed as she saw how Hana had benefited, and she had come to regret what she had done.

Shinzaburou regarded her with a look of concern, and in response, she forced a smile. "But please do not worry, I do not intend to show such a face to my victorious daughter." She turned back to Hisako. "Again, I would like to contratulate your granddaughter on winning, Reizei-san."

As Yuu looked on, indifferent as always, even in the face of his grandson's defeat, Hisako simply nodded and said "Thank you."

"_You really can get things done when you try, Mako,"_ Hisako thought, a smile crossing her face.

* * *

"Damn those little brats!" Moriya Junko said, waving her fists. "How dare they take out Kouta's tank!"

"Now, now, dear," her husband, Moriya Yoshi said.

"WAY TO GO, YUKARI" Akiyama Jungorou shouted. He was, as always, pleased to hear that his daughter had won the tournament, especially having heard that she had switched tanks to the game-winning Char B1Bis.

Yoshi, hearing the noise of Jungorou's cheering, turned around and looked at Akiyama Yoshiko, who gave a sheepish and embarrassed smile.

"Please don't mind my husband, sir," she said. "He and I are just proud of our daughter right now."

Yoshi let off an amused chuckle.

"I know where you're coming from, ma'am," he said. "And before I forget, congratulations."

Yoshiko gave Yoshi an appreciative smile in response.

* * *

Nishizawa Taisuke and Sosuke sat in the stands, observing the result.

"Pathetic," Taisuke said with disgust in his voice. "The Patriarch should have chosen your team, even if Sasuke did win the last tournament by sheer luck."

"Perhaps," Sosuke said. "But my team has so far only faced the other male teams where we come from. One has to wonder how they would fare against these girls, especially since this is apparently Oarai's first battle against equal odds, just as it is Shirosame's. I have to wonder- are we merely large fish in a small pond? Are there people out there who are better than the Nishizawa school?"

Taisuke frowned, angered that Sosuke, his heir, would even ask such heretical questions, and that he was no longer as sure that he could answer both with a decisive "No" as before.

"No one must know of this stain on our family's honor," Taisuke said. "Before we return to our home, I will officially disown Sasuke from the family name. You are not to speak to Sasuke ever again; he is no longer your brother, and you are now the only child of the Nishizawa family."

"Yes, Father," was all Sosuke could say in response, his expression unreadable as he turned away from Taisuke for a moment.

Shiho, who was seated a few rows in front of Taisuke, listened to his conversation while barely containing her contempt. To her, he was arrogant, flaunting his accomplishments against teams that, in her mind, were almost certainly weak, and would not stand a chance against Maho.

But amid all the disgust she felt toward him- she saw nothing admirable about him, but believed he was too low for hatred- there was the small and often unnoticed realization that he was like her. And if she drew such conclusions about him, was it because he was trying to imitate her and failing, or did he succeed in imitating all of her vices?

Maho glanced toward Sosuke, and did not notice any change in his stoic facade after he had been informed that he was no longer able to talk to his brother. She realized that the way she saw him was the way outsiders saw her. There were still secrets she kept from her parents, and even her younger sister. Some viewed her unfavorably due to the things they did not know, but Maho saw such individuals' perception of her as unimportant compared to what she valued most.

* * *

After both sides exchanged bows, Sasuke walked over to Miho, seemingly trembling.

"Congratulatulations, Nishizumi-san…" he said.

"Thank you, Nishizawa-kun," Miho said pleasantly, but she then noticed the despair in his voice and on his face. "But is something wrong?"

"No," Sasuke said evasively, hoping the briefness of his answer would stifle any of Miho's attempts to ask more about it.

_"**Of course** something's wrong," _Kouta thought, biting his lip as he forced himself to remain silent. _"Your father was going to disown you if you lost."_

Kouta realized, however, that if he spoke out about it, he would also reveal that he had eavesdropped on a conversation that was supposed to be private, between Sasuke and his family's butler. He also did not wish to see his opponents burdened by the knowledge of what their victory had done to those they had defeated- who was to say that Miho had not been fighting under threat of similar penalty, either in this match or in the past?

Kouta, coming to a realization and seeing the worried stares of his team as they said goodbye to Oarai's team, composed himself.

_"Win or lose, disinherited or still in that family, you're the same Nishizawa-dono I believe in,"_ Kouta though_t.  
_

"Thank you for the match, Nishizawa-kun," Miho said, after a brief period of silence. "I hope I can face you again someday."

"So do I, Nishizumi-san," Sasuke said as he left with his team. Even considering what he had lost, he found the match enjoyable. Even if his father cast him out of the family, he would never be able to take that enjoyment away from him.

_"Say what you will, Father, Nii-san," _Sosuke thought. _"But I have found my way of tankery, and I don't need your approval to put it into practice."_

* * *

While Shiho proceeded to the car so that she and Maho could head home, Maho stayed behind under pretense of going to the bathroom, to deliver her congratulations to Miho.

"Hello, this is Miho," Miho said.

"Hello, Miho," Maho said. "I don't have long, but congratulations on your victory."

"Thank you, Onee-chan," Miho said.

"I, too, noticed the similarities between your tank squadron and theirs. Remember this- they may try to field the same tank layout as you, but only you can truly lead and inspire others the way you do."

"I understand," Miho said, pausing for a moment.

"I must be going," Maho said. "Mother is going to take us back soon; Father was at work. Take care, and I will talk to you later."

"You too, Onee-chan," Miho said. "Goodbye."

Maho hung up, then hurried to rejoin Shiho.

Miho, after also hanging up, closed her phone and stashed it away in her pocket.

"That was my sister," Miho said. "She and our mother came to watch the game, but she and Mother had to go home afterward, so she called to congratulate me."

"That's too bad," Saori said. "All of us have met Miporin's sister before, but maybe it'd be nice to be able to introduce ourselves to Miporin's mother." As Saori said that, she realized that none of them except Mako had met her parents, and hoped to introduce them when she got a chance.

"Mother is… somewhat old fashioned, traditional and strict," Miho said hesitantly. "She's definitely very different from you, Saori-san, so you might not get along with her."

"I see," Saori said. "My folks are pretty open-minded and easy-going, not unlike Yukarin's, so while they couldn't make it today, we should introduce you to them sometime. They've met Mako, but not you, Hana, Yukarin or Garai."

"And what about your father, Miho-san?" Hana said. "I do not believe you have ever mentioned him to us."

"My father, Nishizumi Shinji, is head of a company- Panzercrafters- that produces tank parts, helps repair old tanks and provides other products and services related to tankery. He knows a lot about how tanks work, as well as how to make them compliant with tournament regulations. He married Mother in an arranged marriage between his family and ours, and changed his name to Nishizumi as part of the arrangement."

While Hana, Saori and Mako gave Miho blank looks in response to hearing the name of her father's company, Yukari's face immediately lit up in recognition.

"That sounds like he has an amazing job!" Yukari said. "I've heard of Panzercrafters before; they do a lot of good work for the tanks that take part in official tankery matches. I think they produced the Hetzer kit that we purchased before the finals."

"Unfortunately…" Miho began, "Father has often been away at work for much of my childhood, as has Mother to a lesser extent. He's also not very different from Mother in terms of his approach to parenting. He sees each of us as having our duties to the family, and is fairly strict when he believes those duties are not being fulfilled."

"I'm sorry…" Yukari said, as much out of regret as out of sympathy for Miho. She had realized that many of those who were fans of the Nishizumi family in tankery inadvertently put Miho on a pedestal and expected her to live up to her family's legendary feats, and the even greater legend that the fans had built up in their own minds. Yukari had gotten glimpses at Miho's family life, and seeing that some of the most respected people in tankery were far from the most respectable parents caused her to doubt her earlier fangirling of them, and to appreciate her own, relatively normal, parents.

Garai's thoughts were in a similar place. Without having parents, he had little idea what they were like, but in the course of this conversation, he was reminded that they ran the gamut from those who loved and supported their children to those who had strict expectations for them, and from those who cared for their children to those who were apathetic toward them, if not worse. But the feeling of having high expectations being placed on him and of being seen as a means to an end was all too familiar to him, even if he had never been treated that way by his parents.

"Anyway, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?" Saori said. To her, there were times when talking about one's problems was helpful, even necessary, but at this point, she saw that doing so would accomplish nothing but make the others unhappy so soon after they had achieved yet another tankery victory.

"I'm going to have to see my grandma," Mako said. "She told me to meet her out front once this was done."

"All right, see you back at the ship," Saori said. Before Mako could leave, suddenly, the headmaster of Shirosame walked up to the girls.

"Nishizumi Miho?" he said.

"Ah, yes, sir?" Miho said.

"I am headmaster of Shirosame Academy. I understand you are commander of the Oarai team?" Miho nodded. "Your victory was a fluke- nothing more, nothing less. My team proved in the last tournament that champions can be dethroned by a mere upstart; their losing to the likes of you merely serves to reinforce that idea. The same will come true one day for you- the Salvation of Tankery Union will see to that and ensure that men- specifically the men of the STU- take their place as rightful masters of tankery."

Without another word, or allowing Team Anglerfish to give a response, the headmaster turned around and walked away.

"How rude," Saori said. "Didn't the fact that we not only won the match today, but also won the last tournament mean anything to them?"

"He just said that Shirosame also won a tournament," Miho said. "I've noticed something. All these teammates who are so much like us, a school that has never heard of women doing tankery, Shirosame doing the same things we did… the only possible explanations I can think of are the most outlandish, such as that there's another world out there parallel to ours."

Miho turned to Garai.

"Is something wrong, Garai-kun?" she said, having recently switched to a first-name basis with Garai.

"I think I remember his voice from somewhere," Garai said. "Could he be…?"

Garai's voice trailed off as his lip began to twitch nervously.

"You know him?" Miho said.

"Ah, no, never mind," Garai said sheepishly. "I can't figure out who he is, exactly, based on just this. I remember a lot of people's voices, including strangers whose names I don't even know."

The group fell silent, unsure of what the encounter with the headmaster meant.

"I must be off; my mother is expecting me," Hana said. "I will see you back at the ship at our meeting time."

"I'd also like to see my parents before we head back," Yukari said.

"So, Garai-kun," Miho said, "Saori-san and I are going to do some shopping around Oarai- would you like us to show you around?"

"Yes, please do, Miho-san," Garai said.

Anglerfish Team went their separate ways, but their minds were all on the people they had encountered and fought against.

* * *

"So, how was the second tankery match you watched, Grandma?" Mako said, talking with her grandmother at their house.

"I suppose it was fun," Hisako said, having come from viewing tankery with a complete lack of interest, to having a casual interest that only extended as far as her granddaughter was involved. "But I can't see how people would get so obsessed with over this- didn't one friend of yours have an entire family school for tankery?"

"If you're referring to Miho," Mako said. "She knows when there's things more important than winning a match, as well as how to win without sacrificing those things. As for her older sister, she seems cold and aloof, but I've noticed that there's a more to her than meets the eye, like when she loaned me her helicopter to let me come to see you in the hospital, although it wasn't obvious in our first encounter."

"I certainly hope you thanked her after imposing on her like that," Hisako said. "I would if I ever get a chance to see her."

"Yeah," Mako said.

"Come on, is that any sort of proper response to give?" Hisako said.

As the lecture continued, Mako pondered what her grandmother would think about an entire organization dedicated to reshaping tankery as they saw fit, but decided it was best to not even get Hisako started on that. Mako had once seen tankery merely as a means to ensure she would graduate on time, and to a lesser extent, repay Miho for her help. As time went by, only the goal she hoped to accomplish- to win together with her friends and save their school- had changed, and it was still a means to an end for her. She did find herself enjoying it, but only because her friends were doing it, and once they graduated and went to separate universities and careers, she would stop. If Mako saw someone like Erika as pathetic and laughable, the STU would seem even more so. And if Mako, someone with a limited interest in tankery felt this way, how would the STU's goals seem to those who did not care at all about tankery, or who hated it?

* * *

"Again, I appreciate your visiting, Hana-san," Yuri said to her daughter as they spoke at the living room in the Isuzu home, "But if I may ask, is something troubling you?"

"I met a boy like me in the match against Shirosame," Hana said. "His father disowned him over his decision to go into tankery and… I cannot help but feel as though it is my fault."

"How could that be possible?" Yuri asked Hana "You met him mere days ago, and from what I heard, boys doing tankery seems to be a new thing."

"This may sound strange, Mother," Hana began, "But have you ever heard of the concept of alternate universes?"

"I have not read or heard of much science fiction," Yuri said, "so please explain."

"Some universes imitate this one, which I will call the 'prime' universe, but are different in certain ways," Hana said. "Shirosame Academy most likely came from another universe, and in each team, there are people who resemble certain individuals from this world. One of those individuals, the one I was discussing, resembles me, and as such, followed my decision to pursue tankery, regardless of the cost."

"But…" Yuri said, as feelings of shame and guilt took hold, "that would require his father to follow my actions in that situation."

"That may be true," Hana said hesitantly, unwilling to bear resentment against her mother after she took back her decision to disown her, but unable to deny that it happened. "But I think it all started because someone- possibly one of the masterminds behind this, wanted boys to do tankery, and as such, had a group of young men imitate us."

"May I speak, Mistress?" Shinzaburou said.

"Certainly," Yuri said.

"Perhaps things may be playing out between this young man and his father as they happened between you and the Miss," he said. "But if that is true, might the result possibly be the same?"

"It certainly might be, Shinzaburou," Hana said. "Shizuru-san, the family maid, is working as an intermediary between father and son. As you say, there is still hope for that family."

Hana knew that her and the others' counterparts often inherited their most obvious traits, but not their subtler depths. But she also recognized that people could change. That idea, a fact of life, gave many hope that the world could become a better place to live, and was a similarly hopeful prospect for Hana.

* * *

"Congratulations, Yukari!" Jungorou said. "That was your tank that got the killing shot, right?"

"It certainly was, Dad," Yukari said. "We switched some things around, so now I'm commanding the Char B1Bis, as I told you before."

"Sounds important," Yoshiko said, not fully understanding the significance, but knowing what it meant to be leader and impressed. She and Jungorou were not very familiar with tanks, despite Yukari's fervent passion for tankery and attempts to explain its significance, but she knew what sounded like a good achievement for her daughter. "We also met another couple, cheering for their kid- I vaguely remember his name- Kouta-kun?"

"I don't quite recall it," Yukari said. She had met Kouta but had not heard his name.

"I had thought that only girls did tankery," Jungorou said. "I'm not too familiar with tankery, but I should at least know that much, right?"

"So did I, but I suppose wherever you go, parents get fired up over what their kids are doing," Yukari said.

Yukari then paused a moment, in thought.

"And Mom? Dad?" Yukari said, causing them to turn to her. "Thank you so much for standing by my interest in tankery, even when it seemed as though I couldn't put it to practical use or make any friends through it. There aren't many parents who are that supportive of their kids."

"What brought this on?" Jungorou said. As neither he nor his wife had followed in their parents' footsteps when they became hairdressers, letting his daughter choose her own path in life was something that seemed most natural to him.

"A friend of mine is having a little trouble with her family, as they don't approve of her decisions," Yukari said. "Hearing about her made me realize just how lucky I am.'

Jungorou's expression turned puzzled, as he wondered who the friend was and what her trouble might be, but Yoshiko gave him a glance that indicated that it might be better not to ask.

"Why, you're welcome, Yukari," Yoshiko said.

* * *

When they reconvened, on the ship, they found themselves getting back to the topic at hand.

"Nishizumi-dono, I spoke with my parents after the match," Yukari said. "You know how my dad is really energetic and quirky, and my mom keeps him grounded? Well, they met a group of people like that, talking about their son, Kouta-kun, but the dynamic was reversed; Kouta-kun's mom was the high-strung one, while her dad was level-headed."

"It seems as though they tried to imitate us, on a superficial level," Mako said. "It's a bit like how some people tried to bootleg a popular soft drink, but because they were missing the 'secret ingredient', the drink ended up tasting completely different. So perhaps these people are imitating only one part of us- the crabby old man Grandma encountered imitated her temper but failed to emulate her warmer and gentler side."

Hana's face turned downcast as she realized that Shinzaburou's prediction that the Kotetsus would eventually reach reconciliation between parent and child like the Isuzus did, might have been overly optimistic. But she told herself that Kaoru had copied her determination, if not her skill, and that it might be possible in time, given that he seemed to reach the point where she had reached before the match with Pravda.

"Why do you think they want to imitate us, Miporin?" Saori said. "Sure, we won the tournament, but it was a long, hard, struggle to get there. Wouldn't it be easier to just emulate Black Forest, large army of strong German tanks and all?"

"I don't know yet, Saori-san," Miho said. "But it seems to me that they, or at least the men in charge of Shirosame, want everything we have now. Perhaps from the Shirosame boys' perspectives, we're the copycats. Whatever the case may be, though, we should keep an eye out for this STU in the future."

Garai pondered the developments. Oarai now knew they had an enemy. But where did that leave him? In this battle, would he be able to do what he was expected to do? The more he thought about it, the less he was sure that this was the correct question to ask, much less that the answer would be yes.

* * *

Shirosame's headmaster took his seat in the center of the meeting room of the STU Council, already dreading the meeting over his school's loss to Oarai.

"I call the meeting of the STU Council to order," the Patriarch said from the microphone at the center of the round table. "I have heard that Shirosame Academy has lost to Oarai. Centurion, can you explain why this happened?"

"Yes, Patriarch-sama," the headmaster, the one known as the Centurion to the rest of the council, said. "The Oarai team seized the advantage early on as a result of several blunders by our crews."

"This was supposed to be an even match, one that you were confident that your tankery crew could overcome," the Patriarch said as the STU council assembled after Shirosame's defeat. "And yet, the Oarai crew lost hardly any tanks while the Shirosame crew was defeated to the last tank."

"Perhaps the fact that the Shirosame boys were simply ordinary high school tankers contributed to their loss," the Subjugator said. "Although I honestly think no advantage of that sort should be necessary to defeat those pitiful girls."

"We have suffered our first loss," the Patriarch said. "And we will have four chances to succeed on the field of tank battles, the same number of times, Oarai had to defeat its enemies in the tournament in order to save its school. And yet… while we must defeat a school with an impressive track record who has won a championship, it does not necessarily have to be Oarai."

* * *

**Omake**

_Last year_

Iruka could hardly believe she was sitting behind the controls of a real tank, in the tryouts for Saunders' tankery team. Having chosen the gunner position because it seemed most exciting, she was confident her gaming experience would give her an edge against the other applicants for the team.

Unfortunately, she got a rude awakening, when she pointed her cannon at the practice target and fired, only for the round to fall to earth short of the target.

"What the hell was that?" one of Iruka's teammates said. "You honestly missed a stationary target that's this close?"

"I pointed it at the target and fired," Iruka said. "I've done this a lot before in video games."

"VIDEO GAMES!?" the student exclaimed. "I've been going to a local tankery school since I was twelve. My instructor's going to be so pissed off if I lose my spot on the team because of your lack of REAL experience!"

"Calm down, they judge you based on individual performance," another student said, then whispered to her. "Even if her chances of making the team are practically zilch, your chances won't be hurt- if anything, they'll be _helped."_

Iruka had no illusions of being the best, but she had, through her experience on her online tank game, become decently ranked, and knew the tank well. She was just now realizing that just like how the in-game currency was not meant to have any monetary value, none of that meant anything in real life.

"_I might be great online,_" she thought, _"But in the real thing, it seems like I'm just as much of a noob as when I first started playing."_

Iruka made a few more shots, each falling short of the target, before Kay told her that someone else would take a turn. Iruka complied, unsure of whether she had run out of time and/or shots, or whether Kay was trying to spare her any further humiliation.

A few days later, they met in the auditorium to hear the results.

"Now, everyone , it's time to unveil the results of the qualifiers!" Kay said excitedly, before her expression and her tone turned more serious. She enjoyed getting up to speak in front of Saunders, but her least favorite part of her job was telling people that they would not have full positions on their team. Unfortunately, with Saunders as large as it was, people who were good at tanks and passionate about tankery could sometimes be set aside until the semifinals or finals, if not benched entirely. "Remember that if you're chosen for the main team, it's only the beginning- work hard and do your best! If you weren't chosen, don't let it get you down- just keep at it and you might just have better luck next time."

Iruka looked over the results, and saw that she was ranked in last place among the prospective gunners.

Iruka sighed. She was expecting this result, but it was still painful to be essentially told that they would only take her if they had no one else to fill the spot. From a more practical matter, she also had the farthest to go to claw her way up to a rank at which she would be of use to the team. Those at the top, like Naomi, would want to keep their rank, those ranked high would want to climb higher, those ranked low would want to aim for a spot on the team, and even those just above her would not want to fall to the bottom.

Iruka then logged on to the tank video game she often played, and was quickly joined by her online friends, Momogawa, Nekota and Piyotan, the future Anteater Team. After a few minutes, Piyotan asked the question Iruka hoped she would not.

Piyotan: How have you all been?

Iruka: Not good; I didn't make the cut on Saunders' tankery team.

Momogawa: Sorry; :-(

Nekota: Our school started up their tankery program again. I'm thinking about applying, but they only have five tanks and meeting people IRL is difficult.

Iruka couldn't help but feel as though her friends were wasting an opportunity to get into a tank with relatively little competition. In her mind, if Oarai was new, most of the would-be crew members would be on the relatively same level as they were, whereas Saunders had people with tankery experience who chose it for its track record.

But the future Anteater Team's attitude about this changed in time to get a tank for them to crew. And Iruka got better at the gunner position, even if not enough to get a spot on the main Saunders team. When Iruka heard the news that her family was moving and she would transfer to Oarai, she was glad to hear it. A chance to start over had come, and she would make the most of it.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

Severstal: I'm considering a bonus chapter, after the main fic, of one of the following: 1)The Shirosame vs. Rhineland match, as you described, 2)A "what if" showing Oarai vs. Rhineland or 3)Oarai vs. King Henry, with the crew reverted to its status as of St. Gloriana (i.e. the first five tanks and crews, Yukari loads instead of Garai, Anzu's student council is in the Pz 38 instead of Yukino's in the Hetzer), but not their level of skill (as such, Rabbit team won't run away, and Anzu, rather than Momo, will be gunning).

As for what comes next, one detail that will be elaborated on in the next chapter is that each member of the Council has brought various subordinates to help the STU's overall mission. They want to emerge victorious, but they also want _their_ subordinates to be the ones winning.

Sorry for the delay. I was slightly busy over the past few days.

The Automobile Club can be difficult to write, since not much is known about them; the only note about Suzuki's personality, for example, is her desire to own a tankery club. They won't play as much of a role here, but may make appearances from time to time. One flaw this series has is that the characters besides Anglerfish team and the commanders and ranking officials of other schools aren't very developed, so it can be difficult to flesh them out without turning them into OC Stand Ins.

I've noticed fanfic authors tend to introduce an individual or group that stands above the heroes or champions of the fields, or otherwise looks down on the protagonists. Taisuke's arrogance is not only indicative of his status as Shiho's counterpart, but also of that tendency, and he's quite upset to see that things didn't go as he expected.

Maho unfortunately comes across to many viewers who haven't read Little Army as nothing more than an aloof big sister, not unlike Miyanaga Teru of Saki (as well as that they're the head of the champion team, and more competent than most of their subordinates- to put a long story short, Teru wins essentially the largest lead in the series in the semifinals, and her teammates lose almost every point). It's thus likely that someone viewing Maho's counterpart in universe would come to the same conclusion, or that Maho herself would be aware of how she comes across to others.

What we know about Miho's father, including his name, is mainly my approximation of his character. It is implied, however, in Little Army, that when Miho refers to her parents being very strict at the end of the first chapter, and saying they both opposed her decision to go to Oarai.

It's interesting contrasting Yuri to Shiho, particularly in their temperaments. My reading of Yuri is that she genuinely cares for Hana (as evidenced by her warm greeting and asking if something's troubling her after coming to), but simply was unable to handle the news of her doing tankery, and disowned her while she was angry and not thinking clearly. It also doesn't help that Yuri found out by Yukari casually mentioning tankery, rather than Hana telling Yuri herself, which gives the impression that Hana was keeping secrets from her- people tend not to like it when Alice is keeping a secret from them that they feel they have a right to know (though how justified that right is depends on the situation), and they find out from Bob.

In the manga, instead of showing Shiho talking with Maho about disowning Miho, Yukari sees Miho with Kikuyo (a family maid, a character from Little Army who will appear in later chapters), and, following them into a cafe, overhears Kikuyo telling Miho that she will be disowned if she loses against Pravda. That seems to make slightly more sense to me, as it explains why Shiho doesn't do anything after Miho defeats Pravda, as opposed to her making up her mind and not following through.

One has to wonder how the Oarai team except Miho (as former vice-captain of Black Forest in her first year), would fare in larger schools with more established teams. I suspect most of them wouldn't make the other schools' teams, and, resigned to being stuck on the bench, might not necessarily improve as much as they did

**Ending Theme Team:** Hawk Team, Falcon Team


	7. The Bigger Picture

**Chapter 7: The Bigger Picture**

As the student council sat with Miho in their office, the conversation turned to the match they had just won. The match had not been televised, and mainly attracted spectators from Oarai and the school ship, but people had begun to post about it on the Internet, and some outside of Oarai, and even outside of Japan were beginning to take notice. Some dismissed it as a quaint local match that was not indicative of a larger trend or doubted the credibility of the reports of male participation. Others began to question their pre-conception of tankery as something only girls did, especially after seeing a team composed entirely of boys face one that was no longer entirely composed of girls.

"Many people are discussing this match," Yukino said. "And it seems most are just as confused as we are about the existence of schools with entirely male tankery teams."

"There was some controversy about whether we could include Suou-kun in the match due to him being male, if mainly anonymous online posters bit... er, bitterly complaining, rather than anyone with any authority," Haruka said. "But since it's not an official match, general consensus was that there wasn't a rule against it, especially since the opposing school- which no one had heard of, by the way, would be completely disqualified if it were strictly enforced. Didn't the ref say that they used the total annihilation rule this time to keep things simple, instead of doing everything like they would if this were a tournament?"

"That's true," Miho said. "And yet, I can't help but feel that, for all of Shirosame's difficulties in the match, none seemed to stem from not understanding the rules."

"I looked into this some more," Shizune said, "and none of the schools doing tankery, at least none of the ones I've heard of , have gone coed yet. I can only hope that we don't get unfairly penalized under the rules if, going off what the vice president said, the rules are more rigorously enforced when we enter the tournament."

"The headmaster of Shirosame wouldn't take that lying down," Haruka said, "although I have to wonder whether he would care about how we do things if he doesn't think much of female-only tankery. It's possible that he'd just leave us to our own devices and suggest that all males with an interest in tankery do the same."

"Still, I have to wonder," Miho said. "Is it possible that this contest isn't over yet?"

"What do you mean, Nishizumi-san?" Shizune said.

"The headmaster of Shirosame approached us after the match, and mentioned an organization called the 'Salvation of Tankery Union' that wanted to become masters of tankery. I wonder if that's why they had Shirosame challenge us, or whether that's related to the presence of boys at the school"

"How would that even be possible?" Haruka said incredulously. "How could some organization full of men that no one's ever heard of somehow dominate the sport? Your family has a long history with tankery, right, Nishizumi-san?"

"Yes, and our family earned its reputation as a prestigious tankery school through strict rules and a record of accepting nothing less than- and often getting- perfection on the field of tankery, whatever the cost," Miho said. "But I suppose that they're not the only authority, and in places like Germany or America they're not as famous; a German tankery student might have heard of the Nishizumis but would have more admiration for a German tankery family."

"So I suppose they want to start with defeating some of the foremost authorities in tankery?" Yukino said. "But even if they did that, the progress of their ascent to assuming the Nishizumis' place would take years, and would likely be far less complete than they had hoped. They might become the top experts, but they wouldn't completely dominate tankery."

"That's exactly it, President," Miho said. "Black Forest still remains feared even after its last two losses, possibly because of the... circumstances... of the first. Our school and Pravda garnered acclaim by winning the tournament, but we have a while to go before we get anywhere close to Black Forest's record. So how does the headmaster of Shirosame think he can suddenly take over tankery just by winning a match, unless someone was helping him, far more than would seem naturally possible?"

"That's a good question, Nishizumi-san," Yukino said. "The only thing I could suggest is that you track down a member of the organization who is willing to talk for the purpose of informing us, or someone who knows about the organization."

Even as Yukino made her suggestion, she silently and implicitly acknowledged the difficulty in doing so. The Centurion had approached Miho for the purpose of boasting to and taunting her, and had no wish to reveal anything to Miho that would indicate any signs of weakness for the STU, or anything Miho could make use of in her plans.

The meeting adjourned, and Miho found herself with more questions than answers about the STU. She and the student council had discussed possibilities, rather than heard new facts. The next step was finding information to confirm her theories, but who could tell her more?

* * *

At the end of tankery practice, Miho, the rest of Team Anglerfish and Yukari stayed behind to discuss the nature of the STU.

"So what did you and the Student Council discuss earlier?" Saori said. "Did you come up with any ideas?"

"A few," Miho said. "We have concluded that the STU seeks to radically change tankery in the immediate future, including establishing themselves as the authorities over it. What we don't know is how they could possibly do such a thing."

Miho's phone rang, which surprised her, as she was not expecting any calls. She glanced at the caller ID, and it said "Caller Unknown." She warily took the call.

"Hello, Nishizumi Miho speaking."

"Greetings, Nishizumi Miho, I am known as the Advisor," the caller said. "You appear to have made good progress in figuring out the mystery behind the STU, but you have not yet arrived at the entire truth. I am willing to reveal the essential information about the STU to you, provided you can trust all of your companions."

Miho looked at each of her friends in turn and and said, "We have someone who wishes to tell us more about the STU- should I listen to him?" They smiled and nodded to her, and she activated the speaker phone. "I can trust all of them; please tell us more about the STU."

"Very well," the Advisor said, and Miho complied. "Having heard about the STU's existence and standing in opposition to you from one of its higher-ranking members, what topic would you like to hear more about first?"

"I suppose the best place to begin would be- what exactly is the STU, and what is it after?" Miho said.

"The STU is a male-dominated organization, and it seeks to not only get men involved in tankery, but rise to the top of it," the Advisor said. "As its symbol indicates, under the STU's vision, males will end up taking a dominant role in tankery over females, hence the male symbol being laid over the female one, although the STU is above all else; only it and its members will be in the main teaching, referee and official positions."

"So some men are in charge, but not all men, even if they're above women?" Saori said.

"Think of it as like a society, in which some are designated as second-class citizens," the Advisor said. "But among the full citizens, only a small percentage comprises the ruling elite. For example, in a patriarchal monarchy, women would be relegated to the home, but only one man would be the emperor."

"I imagine the STU's full of rather pathetic and bitter chauvinists who can't accept women being in charge of something of any importance," Mako said.

"Only partially, and largely as a consequence of there not being any females who have a burning desire to change the status quo," the Advisor said. "For the most part, the leadership simply wants to be on top; the process of integrating males and pushing females to the sidelines is simply a means to an end. If the truly sexist ones had their way, females would not be allowed to participate at all. This may be true for tankery where some of them come from, which, like in Shirosame, only men participate in tankery."

"This is so wrong!" Saori said. "The STU seems to be rather selfish- why don't they try for prestige where they come from?"

"Some of them have in their respective worlds, but their success does not meet their desires," the Advisor said. "The headmaster of Shirosame revived his school's tankery program, leading it to win a tournament, but while people are talking about his school, few are talking about _him._ The discussion is mainly on what the boys who attend his school accomplishes, and he simply wants to be looked up to as an authorityon tankery."

"So in short, they don't give a damn about whether boys get to participate, and only use that as a means to an end to bolster their own egos" Mako said. The Advisor remained silent, not contesting Mako's assertion.

"But I wonder," Miho said. "Should boys be excluded from doing tankery? I never thought about it before, but after seeing the boys of Shirosame, who had also never heard of girls doing it, I've begun wondering whether there should also be a place for boys in it."

"That is a good question, Miho," the Advisor said. "But you do remember that the STU immediately wants to make males dominant in tankery, do you not?"

"I do," Miho said. "And yet, even though they may be wrong about many things, does that mean they're wrong about boys in tankery? And is change necessarily a bad thing for tankery?"

"He said 'immediately'…" Mako said, turning to Miho. "For better or worse, change doesn't occur immediately. People's minds have to change, and such a change has to be implemented; imagine something like what is taking place at this school applied to every other school that does tankery. I don't see how everyone in the tankery world would kowtow to someone they've never heard of, or act like they remembered them all along. Even if they did, it wouldn't happen overnight, nor would the mere act of getting males involved in tankery."

"That is correct," the Advisor said. "Patience and a willingness to compromise are virtues that are foreign to the STU. And it normally would not be possible to establish dominance over tankery so quickly. However, they had some help on this matter."

"From whom?" Miho said, not expecting an honest answer.

"Might you be the one who assisted them?" Hana said.

"The STU members were given the opportunity to establish themselves on their world should they achieve a triumph on the field of tankery against a champion," the Advisor said. "But there are limitations. They have four chances to win a tankery battle, just like you had to defeat four opponents to win the tournament and keep Oarai Academy open. It may be possible for the STU to interfere in other ways, though. They seek to change the world significantly, and in a rather short period of time- if they're successful in a smaller scale version of that, it may prove that they could do so on a larger scale, with more time and resources."

Miho sighed. She noticed that the Advisor had avoided answering the question, but realized that there were other pertinent matters she had to ask about, even if she was not guaranteed to get the answer she needed.

"So, does our victory over Shirosame count as a win for us?" Miho said.

"It does, for all that it implies," the Advisor said. "The STU has lost one of its chances to win and now has three remaining. The people who actively took part in the tankery battle will never again be able to participate in a tankery match against you for the STU's cause, a rule that applies to Shirosame and the other organizations affiliated with the STU. Naturally, there's also the STU's wager."

"Wager?" Yukari said. "I thought gambling wasn't allowed for tankery matches."

"It's not money or anything material," the Advisor said. "If the STU fails in its mission, it will be disbanded. But there's also an individual cost for its members- any member who loses a battle or fails a mission will lose his special abilities."

"What kind of special abilities are you referring to?" Miho said, incredulous at the idea of anyone having any special gifts or talents in tankery, and worried about its implications.

"As you have most likely figured out, the STU could not hope to accomplish what it did without an opportunity being created for them," the Advisor said. "Fittingly enough, however, some of the higher-ranking members were gifted with abilities that they did not have to earn, often symbolic of the effects they are intended to have on the worlds they visit. In a given tankery match or other encounter with them, you may not even notice that a STU member is using his abilities unless you watch carefully, and even if you notice something irregular, you may not understand how it happened. Although in Shirosame's case, none were gifted with such talents; partly because the STU did not want to risk any of their own in that battle, and partly because they thought they wouldn't need them."

"This seems quite unfair," Saori said. "They get all the breaks, don't they?"

"But you seemed to imply that there was a 'risk' of some sort," Hana said.

"There is," the Advisor said. "As I mentioned before, the STU members will lose their powers if they are defeated. This is their ante, their entry fee, their wager in this contest. Since you risk having your tankery changed forever, it seems only fair that they risk something as well. To them, their abilities are things they felt entitled to all along, so it would constitute a risk to them, a concession they were reluctant to accept. But they would never have set out on their mission if they did not have an unrealistically large estimate of what they deserved."

"I understand what you're saying, but I wouldn't call it an even risk," Miho said. "And why should they even get an opportunity at all?"

"Quite simply, otherwise they would complain and say that the only reason they did not achieve success was that they were denied the opportunity to prove their own superiority by a system determined to see them fail," the Advisor said. "So what if they were? Could they succeed against you and the other girls of high school tankery if they were given a chance and everything they needed? The answer is up to you and them to decide. If they succeed, it proves their ability to rise to the top. If they fail, then it's final proof that they are not your equals, much less as superior as they imagine themselves to be."

Miho realized that she was headed into yet another unpleasant situation, but she saw little choice but to persevere and win. She realized that this was one time that what she knew she had to do and what the Nishizumi school's doctrine would mandate were one and the same.

"But why help us by revealing all this?" Garai said, having remained silent until asking this question.

"Because you've earned it; Miho has figured enough out in order to have the rest explained to her," the Advisor said. "And also because if she understands why her enemies fight, she can come to an understanding of why she fights to stop them, as can her allies."

"What do you mean by Miho-san's allies?" Garai said. "The rest of her teammates at Oarai?"

"Yes, her teammates, as well as some of those she has faced in the past at other schools," the Advisor said. "This battle is not hers alone, nor will she always be the one to face the STU."

"But who besides me will have that responsibility?" Miho said.

"The next battle in the fight against the STU will not be yours," the Advisor said. "The STU, learning from its defeat, has chosen to fight someone who, until recently, had a tradition of victory. They lost to you, but might it be possible to win against someone you defeated?"

Miho's eyes widened in shock as she realized who would be next in the battle against the STU.

"Onee-chan…" she said, in quiet horror.

"Indeed, your sister will face the enemy next, as she is another individual who is famous and well-respected in the tankery world," the Advisor said. "As heiress of the Nishizumi family, defeating her can be seen as defeating the Nishizumi school itself."

Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense to Miho as she considered what she had learned so far in a new light. If they wanted a position of power in the world of tankery, what they wanted resembled what the Nishizumi school had. And if they wished to prove themselves superior to that school, they could do so by defeating the one who had defeated that school's heiress. But they had also missed the point behind her victory in the tournament- that she was able to succeed against the Nishizumi school's tradition because she had used her own way of tankery.

"I have shared all the information you have earned the right to hear," the Advisor said. "Share it with your sister and other allies, and keep it in mind yourself, for your turn will come again if your sister succeeds. Goodbye for now."

The Advisor then hung up, leaving Team Anglerfish to consider what they were told. The conflict was wider-scale than they had thought, and they were not the only ones fighting for their side.

Garai stood there with a pensive expression on his face. He was not without doubts about the course he had chosen, but he was certain that it was the right choice; the one he considered most ideal had, in his mind, been sealed off. He was well aware that he risked much, and hoped he would not end up coming to regret it.

* * *

Later on, back at the STU Council's meeting room, the council discussed what they had heard.

"It seems the Advisor has made contact with the Oarai girls, and has told them about us," the Patriarch said.

"Who told you about this?" The Necromancer, a member of the council said.

"Who else?" The Patriarch said. "He may not be entirely reliable at this point, but he, at the very least, disclosed this."

"This could be a problem," the Corrupter said. "If the Oarai girls know about us and our mission, they will be emboldened."

The Progenitor scoffed.

"If it is necessary for them to be 'in the mood' to defeat us, they're hardly worth our time," the Progenitor said. "The students of my school are trained to give their all in every match, regardless of the stakes- victory in and of itself is the ultimate priority. They never compromise or settle for anything less than absolute success. They don't play around with tanks like the children at Oarai and Shirosame."

The Centurion shot the Progenitor an angry glare. The loss was deeply humiliating for him, and so was his attempt to remove Sasuke as team commander as punishment for his defeat being rebuffed by the entire team signing a petition to keep him in command. Even Byakuya spoke out in favor of Sasuke, saying that just as he had hoped to make the victory his own success, he had to take responsibility for the failure. Facing the possibility of a public backlash, he was forced to quietly discard his plan.

More practical concerns were on the rest of the Council's mind, now that Oarai did not fall as easily as they had anticipated. Could the Progenitor's students succeed where the Centurion's had failed? The Patriarch hoped the Centurion's faith was well-placed.

"Is that so?" the Patriarch said. "Then I look forward to seeing how they fare against the Nishizumi school."

* * *

**Omake**

The evening after Miho's team defeated Shirosame, she got a call on her cell phone from her mother.

"Hello, this is Miho," Miho said.

"Miho, this is your mother," Shiho said. "First, I would like to say, well done defeating Shirosame."

"Thank you, Mother," Miho said, albeit knowing that this was not the only or the main reason her mother had called.

"Second, I have a question," Shiho said; Miho immediately guessed what it was. "Is it true that there are boys on your tankery team?"

Miho paused to consider her answer. She realized that her mother had her own sources of information, and would likely hear about Garai's participation from somewhere else, if not from her.

"Only one, Mother," Miho said, aware of how her answer came across to Shiho.

"Is that so?" Shiho said. "This is hardly traditional."

Miho gulped, anticipating a lecture from Shiho.

"And yet, what matters most to the Nishizumi school is victory, as well as one's commitment to achieving it," Shiho said. "If those boys are willing and able to do tankery the Nishizumi way, then perhaps we may allow them to participate; few women who do tankery truly have what it takes to succeed. If this breach of tradition is necessary to thwart those interlopers and usurpers like the Nishizawas, who plan to change tankery as they see fit, then I suppose we will have to tolerate it. Continue winning at any cost, Miho; arrogant fools like them cannot be allowed to succeed."

"Yes, Mother," Miho said. She realized that what her mother said made sense. To Shiho, the majority of the women doing tankery were doing it "incorrectly", and those doing tankery "correctly" were mainly composed of students of the Nishizumi school. Shiho was suspicious of any new arrivals to tankery, but if some of the men could show the commitment she believed many of the women lacked, she would welcome them. But Miho believed in an open and inclusive version of tankery, with the majority of her team having joined as beginners, and believed that if men were to be included, it should be on similar terms.

"Good," Shiho said. "I will talk with you more another time."

After Miho got off the phone, she let out a long sigh. Her mother was more approving than she had been in the past, but it was because Miho, by winning, fulfilled the Nishizumi school's ideology. Miho, in spite of her timidity, did not need her mother's permission to go to Oarai to escape tankery, or lead it in a way different from her family's style. But a part of her yearned for her mother's approval, even if she did not feel as though she could change herself for the sake of getting it, and she had to wonder- was this the most she could expect when in her mother's good graces? Would she always be judged by her abilities in and approach to tankery, rather than given unconditional motherly love?

She thought back to all of her friends. She had never met Saori's father, but heard that he frequently told his daughter that he loved her. She had met the Akiyamas, who were pleased to meet Yukari's friends and attended all her matches. She heard from Mako's grandmother, who, in spite of arguing with her granddaughter, cared deeply for her. Even Hana's mother ultimately saw the error of her ways and accepted tankery.

_"Is it really too much to ask my mother to unconditionally approve of me, just once?_" Miho thought.

* * *

**About The Salvation of Tankery Union**

**Mission Statement**

The Salvation for Tankery Union believes that tankery is in a state of stagnation, being bound by rigid traditions, having an exclusive membership pool and refusing to update for modern times. As such , the STU seeks to accomplish the following goals.

-Full inclusion of males in tankery, to the point at which they are at least 50 percent of all participants.

-Undermining the credibility of the existing teachers and commanders of tankery, especially the Nishizumi school.

-Making the STU Council as the foremost authorities on tankery.

-Establishing new tankery ideologies and rules for the game.

-Putting in place a system that will continue guiding tankery according to these principles, even after the Council's time has passed.

**Ranks**

**The Patriarch**: Head of the STU. He has the authority to make decisions for the organization, including matters related to the termination of a member.

**The Council**: A seven member voting body that makes organizational decisions for the STU. They are privy to the secrets of the organization, including its long-term strategies, projects and data. Each member of the Council, including the Patriarch, has brought in subordinates who may participate in tank battle; to a certain extent, their performance affects how each member is seen as contributing to the group's success. Council members will receive some credit if their subordinates succeed, but while they are not held accountable for their failure, it reflects badly on them.

**Officers**: Higher ranking members who are not members of the Council. They may have abilities of their own. This includes operatives entrusted with important missions, as well as administrators of various departments. Administrative officers may have security clearance for all the things pertaining to their work, while field operatives with important missions and powers may not have much more than normal members.

**Members**: Rank and file members. This includes people involved in the day to day work of the building, including clerical work, security, cleaning and so forth. They may have security clearance for matters pertaining to their duties that exceeds that of a member; for example, a custodian may be let into a records room to clean, but they are watched carefully.

**Members By Association**: People affiliated with any organization run by a STU Council member. They are only privy to the most basic information about the STU, and are expected to follow the leader's orders without question.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

severstal: While most of the Oarai crew are better shots than their opponents, they largely didn't start out that way. One possibility is that, knowing that they're outnumbered and that there's no one who can replace them served as an impetus for the Oarai gunners to improve (except Momo, who never did).

Miho does have some degree of respect for the Nishizumi style's track record, even though she herself can't follow it, as she says in the first episode that her mother and sister only thought of tankery as something they just did, but they do have talent. She doesn't necessarily care as much for victory, however, unless something important is on the line (like in the last tournament or this fic), but wants to find a way of tankery that she can do herself.

Shiho often comes out in opposition to boys doing tankery in fanfics. While I suspect Shiho would be less than happy to have them, she also has strict standards for most people doing tankery, and tends to care more about how they do tankery, rather than who is doing it; if the men did tankery the Nishizumi way, she would be willing to tolerate their presence. To her, stopping the STU, which would enable the Nishizumi school to retain its prestige, comes before all else.

Interestingly enough, Miho, while deeply hurt by her mother's cold treatment of her and a fairly timid individual, does not put a great deal of effort into gaining Shiho's approval, nor does she allow Shiho to influence her decisions. She goes to Oarai over both her parents' opposition, and in the manga, is prepared to surrender to Pravda even knowing that she'll be disowned. Still, it is likely that she would want Shiho to approve of her, even if she isn't willing to do the things that Shiho would expect of her. It's also worth asking the question of what it would take to gain Shiho's approval and how it would feel to have it- Maho, the one Shiho approves of the most, seems to, at best, be little more than indifferent to having Shiho's approval.

Little Army Chapter 7 implies that there are other tankery families, and that the Nishizumi family stands out among others for its strictness. Considering that tankery was apparently established in Germany, it's likely that there would also be some tankery families there.

**Ending Theme Team**: New Anteater Team


	8. Inheritors

**Chapter 8: Inheritors**

Maho settled in to her dorm room at the school ship where she was going to university. Her mother believed in the value of higher education, especially for a Nishizumi heiress, who would have to not only learn how to command a tank, but how to teach others, run the family and the school's day to day activities, and go about the dealings with others that were necessary for the school. Maho was committed to learning as much as she could so she would be able to do well at any aspect of the role that was necessary at the moment. But for the moment, more pressing concerns weighed on her mind.

After Miho's victory over Shirosame, Maho had extended her congratulations. But soon afterward, she also heard about the Centurion's cryptic warning, and later, about Miho hearing from the Advisor that Maho would be challenged next. Naturally, Maho's first instinct in response to the former was to offer to do what she could to help out, but Miho told her that she would only be able to participate when she was allowed to do so, albeit very soon.

Part of Maho was worried about Miho- whether she would lose against the enemies to come, and whether she would be able to withstand all the pressure on her, which was more than she should have to take on, and possibly more than she could bear. If she lost and essentially turned tankery over to the STU, there was the possibility that many would blame her, as they did in the past. Maho believed her sister should have the freedom to make her own decisions without having to take such people's expectations of her into account.

Suddenly, Maho's cell phone rang, and she, checking the caller ID, noticed that it was her mother. Maho realized that her mother, not the sort who merely called to chat with her daughters, did not call unless it was important, and hoped the news would not be too unpleasant.

"Hello, this is Maho," she said after she took the call.

"Maho, this is your mother," Shiho said. "An urgent situation has arisen concerning you, and I need you to come home as soon as you can."

"What has happened, Mother?" Maho said.

"Someone has challenged you to a tankery match with the rest of the Nishizumi school students," Shiho said. "The stakes are your hand in marriage, and apparently, we are not allowed to refuse."

Maho immediately recognized that the STU had made its move. But why would they be interested in her? She was the heiress of the Nishizumi family and had won several tournaments in her school career.

She suspected that the answers would come once she got home.

"I'll arrange for transportation back home," Maho said.

* * *

As Maho stepped off the boat she had taken to travel home, onto the docks near where the Nishizumi house was located, she scanned the area for those who were going to pick her up. Her eyes immediately fell on a woman who, wearing a green kimono, stood out from the others in modern clothing. The woman was Kikuyo, one of the Nishizumi family maids, and she waved to Maho.

"Welcome home, Maho-sama," Kikuyo said as Maho approached, while greeting her mistress' eldest daughter with a bow. "How was your trip?"

"It went well, Kikuyo-san; thank you for coming here," Maho said, as Kikuyo took her suitcase, which contained a few days' worth of clothes and some items, such as her toiletries. As they walked over to where the car was, Maho looked around to see if her mother was there.

"Where's Mother?" Maho said, suspecting correctly that her father was at work.

"The mistress is dealing with some matters related to your upcoming match, including getting the students together," Kikuyo said.

"I see," Maho said as she got into the car. She knew that at best, her mother was not one for sentimentality or gestures of sympathy without a practical purpose. Other families might have thought to go in person to pick up their daughter, but Shiho saw such time as better spent doing things that had actual benefit for the family. Maho was less than happy with this despite having gotten used to it, but ultimately realized that a great deal of preparation was required for the coming battle.

* * *

The car pulled into the Nishizumi family compound, turned a few times and came to a stop inside the garage designated for cars. Maho and Kikuyo got out of the car, Kikuyo pulling Maho's suitcase behind her, and entered the main building, proceeding to the living room.

"Mistress, Maho-sama has arrived," Kikuyo said, showing Maho into the living room, where Shiho waited to meet with her.

"Very well, Kikuyo, you are dismissed," Shiho said. "Take Maho's luggage to her room."

"Yes, mistress," Kikuyo said.

Shiho nodded, as Kikuyo bowed and took her leave with Maho's suitcase, before turning to Maho. "Welcome home, Maho."

"It's good to be home, Mother, but I wish it were under different circumstances," Maho said, sitting in seiza before Shiho.

"I will get right to the point," Shiho said matter-of-factly. "A man named Ohtori Yamato, also known as the Progenitor, contacted me a while ago, demanding that I arrange a match between his heir and my heiress- namely, you- as well as our students; neither he nor I are allowed to directly participate in the battle. He stipulated as part of the agreement that his son, Takumi, would become head of the Nishizumi family, as well as his Ohtori family, by marrying you."

Maho briefly froze in shock, before she remembered- what reason would her mother have for accepting it? The contempt in her voice had made her opposition to the arrangement clear, so perhaps there was hope that her mother would not force her to go through with such a thing.

"That is a truly brazen demand," Maho said. "What reason would anyone in our position have for accepting it?"

"I refused for several reasons, most of all because he seemed to be the only one who stood to benefit from it," Shiho said. "Did he honestly think his family was more prestigious than ours, much less enough so that he could make such demands? But a figure who called himself the Advisor said that your destiny would be at stake in a tankery match between our family and his. If you win, the Ohtori family will permanently back down, and be unable to extend their family line. If you lose, you will be married off to the Ohtori heir. Apparently, the Advisor will not disclose what will happen if you refuse after losing, because he said, in his words, 'that possibility does not exist' for you."

"And then… what will happen to the Nishizumi family?" Maho said, asking the question that she believed the dutiful heiress of the Nishizumi family would naturally ask next.

"I hope never to have to resort to this," Shiho said. "But I suppose it would be what would happen if you… were unable to perform your duties as heiress. Quite simply put, we would call upon Miho to be your replacement; her ideals might be troublesome, but in such a scenario, she will be all that we have. And even if it's technically a branch family to the Ohtoris, it would allow our family to continue."

A chill went through Maho as she recalled how Miho had chafed under the rules of the Nishizumi school. Now, all the pressure that Maho endured would be focused on Miho- who would either submit to the school's demands or be cast out, provided she did not break entirely and run away from tankery. Maho realized that this was the main reason Miho had been born, even if it was not the purpose for which Miho wanted to live her life.

"Then it won't come to that," Maho said. "I will see to it that the Ohtoris are defeated."

"Very good," Shiho said. "The students of our school are at your disposal. Drill them well, for tomorrow, you will face the Ohtori heir, along with all the men and tanks he has at his disposal, in tankery battle."

* * *

"…and for that reason, they have challenged us to a tankery match," Maho said, as she stood before the assembled students in the main lecture hall of the Nishizumi school, wearing the Nishizumi school uniform. After changing her clothes and calling the students to an assembly, she had spent the last few minutes explaining the situation to them. "I realize that this is a sudden request, but I would be most appreciative if you could help out here."

"We most certainly can," the girl who had once served at Maho's driver in a practice match against Miho, said. "The instructor contacted us, informing each of us about the situation. We have today and tomorrow free, and are at your disposal, Commander- all of us are here because we can and want to be here."

"I never thought I'd see this day again," the gunner from that same battle said, "Maho-sama, I am at your disposal once again!" She was interrupted by a bop on the head from a taller girl behind her.

"You're just as transparent as always," Maho's former loader said to the gunner, before turning to Maho. "You should see her when she's not in front of someone she needs to impress."

Maho looked at the three, and saw them as indicative of the challenges she faced in getting together a fighting force. All of them had experience in tankery. Most of them had one role they were very good at, enough so for them to easily get a spot on the main team of a school with a strong tankery program. Some of them had served together in tanks before. But they had not formed a cohesive force, and in a school as competitive as the Nishizumi school, not all of them got along.

Maho stepped away from the lecture hall, and walked to the tank hanger with the others, lost in thought as she wrestled with how to get all the girls to work together, both as tank crews, and as a united team.

"It has been a while, Commander," a familiar voice came from behind Maho. Maho turned around and saw her vice-captain, Itsumi Erika, who was also wearing the Nishizumi school uniform.

"Hello, Erika," Maho said. "Did my mother summon you, too?"

"That's true," Erika said. "But I wouldn't miss this for the world. Some upstart thinks they can simply dethrone the Nishizumi school in their very first tank battle? That's like playing a video game and expecting to start at the final boss. By contrast, Oarai had to earn the chance to face our school in tank combat by making their way through the tournament."

Maho could not doubt Erika's sincerity. But she had to wonder about why she would do what Maho told her. Erika was arrogant and condescending to those she viewed as inferior while being respectful to Maho, and Maho noticed a similar discrepancy in behavior among other people, including her gunner. People who were often rude to others became polite to her, and those who were polite often went the extra mile for her, possibly because of who she was, or because they had something to gain from talking to her.

"Let's start getting everyone into teams," Maho said. Maho looked over records, and assigned each member into teams, based on how much they had worked together in the past. She then turned to the crew from her practice battle with Miho long ago.

While the school's strict standards, and emphasis that the students' performance would determine their rank in a tankery team, among other things, were meant to draw out each student's maximum potential, it also led to rivalries between students. Some girls did not work well together, partly out of a secret hope that the other would fail and their standing would fall, and partly out of jealousy, contempt and/or fear of being outdone.

"You three will be part of my tank's crew," she said to her former team. "And remember…whatever your differences may be with each other, cooperation is essential to winning this, whether your intentions are to help me, to accomplish something for yourselves, or do tankery for the sake of doing tankery."

"Wow, you saw right through me, Maho...-sama," the gunner said, her façade slipping temporarily as she realized that Maho was aware of her true nature.

* * *

After about two hours of combat drills, Maho called for a lunch break.

Maho had chosen to work on the primary weakness her forces had when facing Oarai, one that overlapped between Black Forest and the Nishizumi school, given how many girls who were members of both. Black Forest was easily able to follow orders and stick to long and complex plans, but whenever something happened to disrupt them, their carefully laid formations fell apart, and individually, they were weaker than most Oarai tank crews.

Maho had little idea what to expect from her enemy. Before, she had data about her various opponents, and the types of tanks they used. She was able to modify her lineup and strategy accordingly, and had the ability to make adjustments in the middle of battle. She had been able to prepare for everything, and nothing had been left to chance. Even Oarai, once an unknown team apart from her sister, had revealed much about its strategy in the preceding three rounds of the tournament, all of which Maho had watched. But now Maho could not analyze the enemy's past tactics, while they were likely able to formulate a strategy based on hers.

While Maho had been taught, as a Nishizumi, to do anything to win, she no longer was sure of the tactics she often used in tank battles. And while she had also been taught to see defeat as unacceptable, and knew this was not a battle she could lose, she no longer felt certain she could achieve victory in this battle.

Upon thinking about it, Maho remembered that Miho had faced many opponents against whom she was not sure she could win- St. Gloriana, Saunders, Anzio, Pravda, and finally her old school of Black Forest. It was difficult, but she persisted and did what came naturally to her, and ultimately prevailed.

But for Maho, one question remained- could she, who had followed the Nishizumi style for so long, find another way of doing tankery?

* * *

"Is something troubling you, Maho-sama?" Kikuyo said while serving Maho lunch.

"To be honest, Kikuyo-san, I have begun questioning myself lately," Maho said. "I had always followed the Nishizumi style since it was expected of me. But now, seeing Miho win with her own way of tankery, I have begun to wonder if the Nishizumi way is always the best. Will by-the-book tactics prevail against an enemy I know nothing about? And how can I inspire people for a cause that's essentially all about saving me from an unwanted arranged marriage?"

"Such uncertainty is to be expected in the face of an unknown challenge with high stakes," Kikuyo said. "And as a former student of the Nishizumi school, I can tell you that the students will do what you say regardless of their feelings."

"But can they do so well enough for us to succeed?" Maho said. "When Miho faced a desperate situation against Pravda, she later told me that if she hadn't raised everyone's morale with the Anglerfish dance, they would have remained in lethargy and despair, and would have been defeated. I feel as though I've relied too much on my rank and position as the Nishizumi heiress to get people to listen, rather than doing things to inspire people."

"My opinion may not mean much, since I serve the Nishizumi family," Kikuyo said, "But I believe you've demonstrated well what kind of qualities you possess in just the last few minutes, Maho-sama. You are able to speak with even a lowly servant such as myself as an equal. You are also quite honest when not acting as Nishizumi heiress And with your intelligence, insight and tactical skills, you are a good leader."

"I appreciate your kind words, Kikuyo-san," Maho said, trailing off a moment as she tried to decide how to word the more difficult part of her response. "But I have heard them so often from those seeking my or my mother's favor that they have largely lost their meaning for me."

Kikuyo paused to consider what Maho had said. She had to acknowledge, inwardly if not openly, that she always had to be mindful of what she said to Maho, even if such courtesy and respect had become second nature to her. In light of that, Kikuyo realized that Maho was likely not wrong to assume that people acted that way toward her out of obligation. But what did Maho mean to her? Kikuyo had watched Maho grow up, and seen her develop and grow, both as a person and as a tankery practitioner. Therefore, apart from how she was obligated to act around Maho, Kikuyo knew how she felt about her.

"Perhaps some of them make a conscious effort to show you more respect because of who you are, Maho-_sama_," Kikuyo said, inadvertently emphasizing the honorific of utmost respect she was required to use on her mistress' children. "But in the same way, while you are forced to act differently while representing the school, some of the traits that are required for that position, which those under you admire, are ones that you genuinely possess, and as such, their respect is in large part, genuine. I don't believe they follow you because you are the instructor's daughter, but because they trust and respect you. All you need to do to win is be yourself, the person who has earned such respect."

"Thank you, Kikuyo-san," Maho said, convinced of what Kikuyo had said.

"Please excuse me, Maho-sama, I must be off now," Kikuyo said. "But I think you should spend the rest of your break with your students."

"I will," Maho said, getting up and going over to her team.

* * *

Partly as a result of her position, and partly the result of her being similarly socially awkward as Miho, but with more confidence to hide it, Maho found casual socializing difficult. Few people readily talked to her about minor matters, and she approached conversations with the intent of accomplishing a goal. But even if she hoped to grow closer to her team this time, could she accomplish it by making a conscious effort to do so?

Maho walked back to where her tank's crew sat, finishing up their lunch. She could hear them talking about various tank related issues. It was hardly friendly chatter, but at the same time, it was not an uncomfortable silence or an angry shouting match. That would do for the moment.

Maho recalled that Miho had once told her that most of her teams had been friends prior to joining tankery. While they possessed little in the way of tankery experience, they liked and trusted each other, improving their teamwork. Unfortunately, most of the Nishizumi school students did not know each other before enrolling, and few had any common ground outside of tankery. Maho suspected it would be too much to ask for them to think of each other as friends, but for the moment, Maho hoped to make them a force that was not only knowledgeable about and skilled with tanks, but could work well as a team.

"Ah, Commander," the loader said, noticing Maho from behind.

"Do you mind if I join you for a few minutes?" Maho said, bringing over her lunch.

"Sure, we were just talking about the way the tank handles," the gunner said. While this might have been considered a work-related topic, for the tankery students, who enjoyed operating tanks, it was also a fun topic.

"Ah yes..." Maho began. She found joining in the conversation easier than she had thought, particularly when it was on a subject of great interest to her. Perhaps this was what Kikuyo referred to when she advised Maho to act naturally.

Several minutes later, Maho looked around, and decided to call for an end to the lunch break.

"Let's start getting everyone together," Maho said. "We resume practice in five minutes."

Maho walked around and saw the students talking amicably, or at least eating in polite silence, as they failed to notice her approach. Some of them most likely had their differences with each other; she hoped she had arranged the teams so that those rivalries would not come into play. But perhaps they had realized that it was in all their interests to win, now that failure was no longer an abstract thing to be avoided, but had very real consequences for the Nishizumi school, and so chose to work together to maximize their chances of success.

* * *

After training concluded for the day, Maho stood before the students.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. You have improved greatly in the course of your training, both today and in the past, and I look forward to you showing the results of that training against the Ohtori family and its students. Before you leave, though, I have a question that I would like to hear some of you answer, and would like all of you to consider. Why do you wish to win this battle?" Maho pointed to a girl in front

"Because I don't want to see you get married off to someone who's only trying to use you to establish a tankery dynasty," she said. Maho smiled for a moment, before nodding and then pointing to another girl who raised her hand.

"I'm indebted to the Nishizumi school and you in particular for helping me become a better tankery practitioner," the second girl said. "No one else will benefit in a similar way if the Ohtoris simply use you to seize control of the next generation of tankery." Maho pointed to a third girl.

"Tankery has taught me many things, among them, discipline, patience and hard work," the girl said. "The Ohtori school seems to practice none of these."

Content with what she had heard, and seeing no other hands raised, Maho decided to continue talking.

"All of you have given different answers so far," Maho said. "But they are not mutually exclusive, and can be accomplished the same way- by winning the battle tomorrow. In Tankery, you often find yourself working with people you may not know well or may not get along with. But in the process, you often find that you have more in common with them than you thought, and that their goals may not be all that different from yours, especially since both are affected by your team's ultimate success or failure. As such, while this match was started over me, I am not fighting solely for my sake, but to, among other reasons, ensure that all of you accomplish what you seek to accomplish by winning."

The sound of cheering and applause went up from the assembled crowd of students.

Maho smiled. Perhaps this speech was not enough on its own to instill a sense of camaraderie among the students. Perhaps she could not change how she did tankery overnight. But people could change and adapt to new situations. With that in mind, she felt ready to take on the Ohtoris, to prevent herself from being married off and Miho from being named the new heiress, and to win the second victory in the war against the STU.

* * *

"You wished to see me, Father?" Ohtori Takumi, the Progenitor's son and heir, as well as technically the second person with the Progenitor title, said to his father in his school's tankery club's office. Takumi had spent the day training the students of the Ohtori school. Unlike the world where Shirosame Academy came from, tankery was an activity that included both genders. Takumi's mother had been a rising star among female tankers until her family arranged for her to marry into the Ohtori family.

"Yes, Takumi," the Progenitor said. "How is the team coming along?"

"Very well; they will be ready for the match tomorrow," Takumi said. He had been spending most of the day training them, albeit leaving most to their own devices while he focused on his team and held a strategy meeting with the tank commanders. "I told them that the honor of our school- and their honor, as well- was on the line, and they complied. As you say, Father, the two most important qualities for an Ohtori student are the discipline to obey an order and the ability to carry it out."

"That's good to hear," the Progenitor said. "I called you in to let you know that the Nishizumis have refused our proposal, so the only thing left is to win the match; once we do, their compliance is assured. When you marry the Nishizumi girl, you will become the father of a new line of tankery champions."

"Yes, Father," Takumi said, feigning interest as the Progenitor kept talking about everything he wanted without mentioning or considering what Takumi would want.

"I have to report in to the STU Council," the Progenitor said. "Get some rest; tomorrow will be an important battle for our family."

* * *

Takumi lay in bed that night, thinking about why he was trying so hard to prepare his troops to win the tournament. His father was projecting his hopes and dreams onto him, using him as a pawn. The Progenitor had never been able to do very well on tankery, getting cut from his high school tankery team. As such, he had arranged to marry Takumi's mother, hoping to be able to use her to sire a child- preferably a son- with her tankery prowess.

The Progenitor had established a school, but while it bore his name, its fame was largely the result of his wife's association with it, something the Progenitor found intolerable. Even after his wife had passed away from an illness when Takumi was twelve, and already a student at the school, people continued to speak of her when talking to the school, and considered her the mother of the Ohtori school, much to the Progenitor's dismay. The Progenitor believed that once Takumi succeeded on his own merits, people would forget his wife, and realize that tankery talent was present in the Ohtori bloodline. The inherited gifts were his to give, as well as his descendants' in turn, and he would have a profound impact on tankery that would outlast him.

But even if Takumi had inherited his mother's tankery talent, and would pass on everything he learned to the next generation, he did have a talent of his own- a knack for hitting targets almost completely without fail, even those that were in motion or at a very long distance. It was because of this ability, rather than what he had inherited from his parents, that he qualified for Officer rank among the STU; even if it was not an administrative position, his skill with a tank gun was acknowledged. He had even earned his own title, the Sniper, which he preferred to anything that could connect him to his father.

He then came to a decision. Even if he was set on this path by his father, he would make tomorrow's battle _his own_ victory. He would be remembered as the one who started the Ohtori tankery dynasty.

* * *

That evening, the Progenitor called the STU Council to report in on where he stood, and inform them that his son and the other students were ready to challenge Maho and her school.

"How prepared is your son, Progenitor?" The Patriarch asked the Progenitor, as he reported in on speaker phone.

"Very well, Patriarch-sama," the Progenitor said. "Having inherited my ability to pass on abilities to the next generation, my wife's tankery skills and the power of the Sniper from you, he will sire a dynasty that will dominate tankery once he marries the Nishizumi heiress."

"The accomplishments your descendants will have generations from now are nothing more than daydreams," the Patriarch said dismissively. "What I am concerned about at this moment is whether your son and your heir can succeed against the Nishizumi heiress tomorrow."

"He will," the Progenitor said. "He is the heir and top student of the Ohtori school. He is commander of his high school's tankery team, which he led to victory for three years running. He is undefeated where he comes from."

"So too were the boys of Shirosame Academy," The Centurion said. "Let us hope that your son fares better than they did." H

The Centurion had made little effort to conceal his opinion that the Progenitor's son did not deserve the rank of Officer when none of the Shirosame boys were higher than a Member by Association, and believed that, even taking Takumi's ability into account, he mainly owed his rank to his connections; the other Council members were similarly jealous of a fellow Council member's subordinate achieving a high rank. The Centurion also believed that abilities were a poor qualifier for Officer rank, recalling a time when the Corrupter lobbied to get Officer rank for one of his subordinates who could alter the personalities of his victims, an ability that, because of how it needed to be applied, was virtually useless in tank combat.

Another factor was that the Ohtori school was coed, and due to only recently having been established, there were not enough students to man ten tanks if all the girls were excluded. The Council had decided to quietly allow the females to participate, but the dissenting votes of the Centurion and the Subjugator, as well as the less than enthusiastic approval of the others, indicated a degree of discontent. With the STU's first defeat dampening morale and extinguishing their hopes for an effortless victory, they were wary of anyone who believed beyond any doubt that his plan would bring victory.

"I hope so as well," the Progenitor said, barely suppressing an angry snarl.

He found the focus on what his son would be able to do galling for several reasons, mainly centered around the fact that he had hoped he would do it himself. If he succeeded in that case, he would be the one to succeed, while if he failed, his son would still have the possibility of carrying on his lineage, albeit without passing down the Nishizumi family's tankery skills. With his son commanding the tanks, any victory would belong to his son, while his defeat would doom his chances of making his dream a reality. But the Patriarch had insisted that his son was to command, both to earn the right to marry Maho, and because he, with his additional ability, would be more likely to succeed.

"Surely you are also aware of it, are you not?" the Patriarch said, sensing the Progenitor's frustration through the one-way video feed he had of the meeting room. "Without tankery skills of your own, much less a special ability, all you can do is rely on your son to carry on your family name."

The Progenitor sighed. "Perhaps, in that regard, I'm not too different from you," he said to the Patriarch.

The Patriarch ignored the Progenitor's verbal jab at him. From a certain point of view, the Progenitor's remark was more on target than he realized, but there were other factors he did not know about that made it less accurate when viewed from a broader perspective.

"The time may come when the Council will have to take the field in tankery battle," the Patriarch said. "But I would prefer not to have to risk losing any of us unless such a day comes. Think of this as a responsibility, but also an opportunity for your son, to earn the right to rule over tankery."

The Progenitor sighed and reluctantly conceded the point.

_"Takumi, you will one day carry on my will and inherit my school_," he thought. _"If you cannot succeed tomorrow, I cannot entrust you with either."_

* * *

**Omake**

"We're almost ready to begin your first lesson, Maho, do you have any questions?" Shiho said to a younger Maho after the girl emerged from her room in her Nishizumi school tankery uniform.

"Yes, Mother," Maho said. "Should I call you 'Instructor' like everyone else does? I am, after all, a student like they are and should not expect favoritism." One of Maho's classmates, a female archery student, called her father "Master" while at the dojo.

"Your idea is commendable, Maho, but unfortunately, you miss the point," Shiho said. "Everyone at the school knows of your relationship to me, as well as the fact that you are the heiress to the school. You bear a greater privilege and responsibility than the others, and have worked harder than all of them, so it is only fair that you and they recognize that distinction."

"Yes, Mother," Maho said. She and her mother walked over to the school and greeted the students. "Good morning, class," Shiho said. "Today, my daughter Maho will be assisting me in my lessons."

"Good morning!" the other students said in unison, bowing before looking on in awe at a girl younger than any of them assisting their instructor.

For Maho, this was the beginning of being put on a pedestal, isolated from others, and having admirers rather than friends. Shiho instructed her to be aloof as a commander, and keep a professional distance from her subordinates- so that she would not get attached to any of them, and none of them would expect preferential treatment from her.

Some of the girls who studied and did tankery under her expressed a desire to be like her, always expressed with respectful awe rather than jealousy, and while Maho expressed polite appreciation for their praise, she wondered if they really wanted to be like her, or if they would be so worshipful if she were not the daughter of the head of the Nishizumi school.

But she remembered that there was one person who saw her as nothing other than her older sister, and resolved to persist for Miho's sake.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

Despite her dedication to becoming the perfect Nishizumi heiress, Maho appears less than happy with Shiho. She chooses to be heiress so that Miho will not have to, she's slightly disappointed when hearing that her mother is not home from training, is surprised (and to an extent, impressed) that Miho actually questioned the Nishizumi style to Shiho's face, and later ends up defending Miho's tankery style to Shiho after the match with Pravda. These feelings will be touched upon more later.

Kikuyo is a character in Little Army, who is a Nishizumi family maid, Nishizumi tankery school alumna and seems to be like a mother figure to Miho, as one of the few people Miho can talk to about her problems. She also has fairly good advice for Miho, although she is restricted by her duties as a maid, and as such, can't express her opinion on the Nishizumi style itself, only choosing to remind Miho of tankery's beneficial effects on women's growth.

The Progenitor's powers are intended to represent how canon characters can, after mating, give birth to a Gary Stu that has both their strengths and none of their weaknesses, as well as how some Mary Sues give birth to offspring with a comparable level of Sue-ishness as they do. It also represents how some creators of Mary Sues use characters to do things they could never do in real life, similar to how the otherwise powerless and untalented Progenitor intends to sire a line of tankery prodigies.

On a side note, it's fairly interesting how in Japanese, you can belatedly put in an honorific on someone's name, something that's more difficult in English(where, for example, Kikuyo might call Maho "Lady Maho" rather than "Maho-sama").

The omake was intended to show a younger and less sure of herself Maho, and to show that she is isolated from others.

**Ending Theme Team**: Maho's Team


End file.
